‘I wish I could’ve done something.’ Raiders’ Derek Carr on deadly crash involving Henry Ruggs
Derek Carr said it broke his wife’s and his heart after finding out about the fiery crash Tuesday morning allegedly involving former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III that killed a woman.
“My emotions have been on a roller coaster so to speak this year,” Carr said Wednesday. “My heart goes out so much — and try to say it with a straight face because I’ve already been emotional about every bit of this — but to the family and to all the families involved. No one ever wants to see this, whether it’s a football player or not. You never want to see something like this happen.”
Police said the deadly crash happened at 3:39 a.m., near the intersection of South Rainbow Boulevard and South Spring Valley Parkway, involving a Chevrolet Corvette and a Toyota Rav4.
According to police, Ruggs’ Corvette veered right and entered the right-most travel lane, which was occupied by whom police identified as 23-year-old Tina Tintor of Las Vegas. Police said the front of the Chevrolet collided with the rear of the Toyota.
The Chevrolet traveled approximately 519 feet post-impact and the Toyota traveled 571 feet and caught fire. Police said Ruggs was traveling 156 mph.
Tintor and her dog were pronounced dead at the scene.
Ruggs remained at the scene and showed signs of impairment. His girlfriend, 22-year-old Kiara Kilgo-Washington, suffered serious injuries.
Ruggs was booked into Clark County Detention Center and charged with DUI resulting in death and reckless driving. He appeared in Las Vegas Justice Court on Wednesday morning and prosecutors said his blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit and a loaded gun was found in the Corvette.
His bail was set at $150,000 with electronic monitoring program and he was ordered to not drink alcohol or consume other controlled substances and to not drive. He also has to surrender his passport.
Late Tuesday, the Raiders released Ruggs.
“When it comes to this situation, there are so many things out of our control,” Carr said. “But then I do sit back, I think was there something. ... Did I not let him know that I could really be there for him at 3 a.m.?”
“I want to be better. I really look at everything in my life as a learning experience. I wish I could’ve done something. Could I have done anything to help? Even when it seems impossible. Any little thing I could’ve done better?”
Raiders interim coach Rich Bisaccia read a statement.
“We want to express our sincere condolences to the victim’s family,” Bisaccia said. “A person lost their life yesterday morning and we think it’s important to keep focus on that as we talk about this tragic event. We’re deeply saddened for everyone affected especially the victim’s family. That being said, we love Henry Ruggs. We want him to know that. It’s a terrible lapse in judgment of the most horrific kind. It’s something he’ll have to live with for the rest of his life. The gravity of the situation is not lost on anyone here and we understand and respect the loss of life.”
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This story was originally published November 3, 2021 at 3:53 PM.
