Prosecutor: Raiders Ruggs was driving over 150 mph before fatal crash

By KEN RITTER

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Former Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III was driving astatine much than 150 mph with a blood-alcohol contented doubly Nevada’s ineligible bounds earlier his sports car slammed into the rear of a conveyance that burned, sidesplitting a 23-year-old woman, a authoritative said Wednesday.

The Raiders released Ruggs precocious Tuesday, conscionable hours aft the crash, his hospitalization and his booking into a Las Vegas jail. He had his archetypal tribunal quality Wednesday connected felony charges of driving nether the power of intoxicant resulting successful decease and reckless driving that could get him up to 26 years successful authorities situation if helium is convicted.

Ruggs, 22, appearing with his attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, was not asked to participate a plea to the charges, pending the ceremonial filing of charges by Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson.

The sanction of the Las Vegas pistillate who died successful the wrecked and burned Toyota Rav4 with her canine was not instantly made public.

Las Vegas constabulary person identified Ruggs’ rider arsenic Kiara Je’nai Kilgo-Washington, 22, of Las Vegas.

Ruggs and Kilgo-Washington were hospitalized with unspecified injuries that constabulary said did not look life-threatening aft the Chevrolet Corvette helium was driving slammed into the Toyota astatine astir 3:40 a.m. Tuesday.

Ruggs owns a $1.1 cardinal location not acold from wherever the clang occurred, according to spot records.

Prosecutor Eric Bauman said aerial container machine records showed the Corvette decelerated from 156 mph (251 kph) to 127 mph (204 kph) earlier it struck the Toyota.

Judge Joe M. Bonaventure said moments aboriginal helium could not callback a velocity that precocious progressive successful a clang lawsuit since helium became a judge. Nevertheless, the justice rejected Bauman’s petition for $1 cardinal bail and acceptable bail, astatine Chesnoff’s request, astatine $150,000 with strict conditions, including location confinement, physics monitoring, nary alcohol, nary driving and surrender of Ruggs’ passport.

Bauman said Ruggs’ blood-alcohol level was 0.16%. Police said antecedently successful a connection that Ruggs “showed signs of impairment.”

Bauman besides said a loaded firearm was recovered connected the level of the car.

Wolfson said extracurricular tribunal helium whitethorn record a limb complaint and expects to record a 2nd DUI complaint against Ruggs based connected the superior limb injuries that helium said Kilgo-Washington suffered.

The justice acceptable Ruggs’ adjacent tribunal quality for Nov. 10.

Probation is not an enactment successful Nevada for a condemnation connected a complaint of DUI causing death, which carries a imaginable condemnation of 2 to 20 years successful authorities prison. The imaginable condemnation for reckless driving is 1 to six years successful prison, with probation available.

The Raiders didn’t hold for courts to act, sending retired a little connection Tuesday nighttime announcing Ruggs’ release.

The squad and the league had issued statements earlier successful the time saying officials were alert of the crash, offering condolences to the household of the pistillate who died and promising to stitchery facts astir what the NFL called “this devastating incident.”

Ruggs was expected to beryllium a cornerstone for the Raiders. He was picked 12th wide successful the 2020 draught aft 3 years astatine Alabama, including helping the Crimson Tide triumph the NCAA title arsenic a freshman successful 2017.

Ruggs was emerging arsenic a prima this play with 24 catches for a team-high 469 yards and 2 touchdowns. As a rookie successful 2020, helium had 26 catches for 452 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Ruggs’ clang occurred 3 weeks aft Jon Gruden abruptly resigned arsenic Raiders manager implicit emails helium sent earlier being hired by the squad successful 2018. Gruden stepped down aft The New York Times reported that the emails had racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments.

The AFC West-leading Raiders (5-2) person won 2 successful a enactment nether interim manager Rich Bisaccia and present instrumentality to the tract this week without their starring receiver successful yardage. They’ll sojourn the New York Giants (2-6) connected Sunday.

The clang besides came little than a twelvemonth aft Raiders moving backmost Josh Jacobs crashed a sports car into a passageway partition connected a roadway astatine McCarran International Airport successful Las Vegas.

Jacobs received respective stitches for a chopped forehead and was initially charged with driving nether the influence, but that complaint was dropped a week aboriginal due to the fact that Jacobs’ blood-alcohol level did not scope the 0.08% level needed to prosecute the case. Chesnoff and Schonfeld represented Jacobs successful that case, which was closed successful March aft Jacobs mentored astatine a Boys & Girls Club and paid a $500 good to resoluteness a nonaccomplishment to workout owed attraction postulation violation.