Henry Ruggs, a former member of the Las Vegas Raidershas been denied parole nearly five years after his involvement in a car crash that killed a woman and her dog.
The Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners ruled Thursday that Ruggs will not receive early release from prison. He had previously met with the board via Zoom in late May to make his request.
If given, he would have been released from prison in August. The denial means his next parole hearing will be approximately May 24, 2027, three months before his mandatory release date.
The fatal crash occurred in November 2021. Ruggs, then a member of the Raiders, was traveling at an estimated speed of 156 mph in his Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. He then collided with a Toyota RAV4 traveling 43 mph.
This collision propelled the RAV4 forward 571 feet. The car then caught fire. The driver, 23-year-old Tina Tintor, and her dog, Max, both died in the accident. The coroner ruled that Tintor died of thermal injuries.
Ruggs refused a field sobriety test at the time of the crash. But a blood test two hours later put his blood alcohol content at 0.161, twice the legal limit in Nevada.
The Raiders cut Ruggs the day after the fatal crash. He later pleaded guilty and remained under house arrest until his sentencing in November 2023.
“Not a minute goes by that I don’t think about the pain I caused her family, her friends and the Las Vegas community,” Ruggs said during his parole hearing in Mayper Associated Press.
The former NFL player also said at the time that he took full responsibility for the fatal accident and that he prayed daily for Tintor’s family.
According to APRuggs met with Tintor’s family to apologize. He also spent some of his time in prison trying to educate young people about the dangers of drink driving.
