Speaking to reporters at the team’s facility on Wednesday, November 3, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan shared that he did not address the team collectively, but rather spoke to individual players about the fatal car crash involving former Las Vegas Raiders WR Henry Ruggs III.
“I talked to guys individually, just because it’s such a big deal and it’s such a tragedy and it’s such a sad thing to see,” Shanahan said. “We went through the draft process with (Ruggs) a year ago and I think a lot of guys do know him, but just anytime you see something like that, I think we had the same reaction that probably everyone else on the planet has.
“It makes you sick to your stomach on both sides and something that happens too much in this world and something that everyone cannot see enough lessons on that and why it can end very fast.”
Ruggs was the fastest player at the NFL combine in 2020 when he clocked a 4.27-second 40-yard dash. The Raiders selected the University of Alabama product 12th overall that year while the 49ers went on to select a wideout of their own, Brandon Aiyuk, with the 25th overall selection.
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New Details Continue to Emerge From Crash
According to Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Katelyn Newberg on Wednesday, November 3, Clark County, Nevada prosecutor Eric Bauman said that Ruggs was driving 156 miles per hour two seconds before impact, with a blood alcohol content of “more than twice the legal limit” in Nevada “and a loaded gun was found in the car.”
The Las Vegas Metro Police Department confirmed that Ruggs, 22, “showed signs of impairment” when authorities arrived on the scene.
Air bag computer records show that Ruggs’ green Corvette decelerated to 127 miles per hour upon crashing into the rear of a Toyota RAV4, rupturing the fuel tank and igniting it aflame, ESPN reported. The Toyota’s 23-year-old driver, later identified by police as Tina O. Tintor of Las Vegas, and her dog died on the scene after “at least three bystanders” were unable to help Tintor escape the fiery vehicle, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The crash occurred at 3:39 a.m. Tuesday, November 2 several miles west of the Las Vegas Strip.
Ruggs’ girlfriend, identified by police as Kiara Je’nai Kilgo-Washington, 22, also of Las Vegas, was with Ruggs in the Corvette and both sustained “serious” but non-life-threatening injuries in the crash, according to an LVMPD news release. Local authorities confirmed that she underwent surgery Tuesday for a severe arm injury.
Ruggs was released by the Raiders on Tuesday, hours after the crash.
On Wednesday, Ruggs made his initial appearance in Las Vegas Justice Court wearing a neck brace and seated in a wheelchair. Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Joe M. Bonaventure set Ruggs’ bail at $150,000, which Ruggs posted a short time later, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Ruggs, who is next set to appear in court on November 10, faces felony charges of driving under the influence resulting in death and reckless driving, in addition to possible charges of possessing a loaded firearm while intoxicated, ESPN news services reports.
NFLPA Provides Free Rideshare Services for Players: Attorney
GettyFormer Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III made his initial appearance on multiple felony DUI and reckless driving charges in Las Vegas Justice Court at the Regional Justice Center on November 3 in Las Vegas.
Ruggs signed his first professional contract in July 2020 before the start of his first NFL season. It was a fully guaranteed four-year deal worth $16.6 million and included a team option for a fifth year, per Spotrac. Sporting News’ Jordan Greer reported the Raiders are “will likely seek to void the remaining years” of the deal.
ESPN reported that “property records show Ruggs owns a $1.1 million home in a neighborhood not far from where the crash occurred.”
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson also said in court on November 3 that since 2013, the NFL Players Association has contracted with rideshare services to provide free transportation to members “specifically to prevent tragedies such as this.”
“This is a very tragic and sad day in this community,” Wolfson told reporters after Ruggs’ initial court hearing, via The Las Vegas Review-Journal. “A woman lost her life. Another person perhaps lost his career, perhaps (is) going to prison. This was a very, very ugly day, yesterday morning.”
Wolfson added that he intends to file a second felony DUI charge against Ruggs related to the injuries to Kilgo-Washington, who has an 18-month-old daughter with Ruggs according to posts on his social media accounts, and that prosecutors may still elect to file a charge of possession of a firearm while intoxicated.
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Kyle Shanahan Addresses Henry Ruggs Crash as Lesson to 49ers Players