Prosecutor: Former Raider WR Henry Ruggs III was driving at over 150 mph before the fatal crash

2021-11-12 11:27:52 By : Ms. Cathy Liu

LAS VEGAS-Former Raiders wide receiver Henry Lagos III drove at a speed of 156 miles per hour with a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit in Nevada, and then his sports car crashed into a burning vehicle In the back, a 23-year-old woman was killed, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The Raiders released Lagos on Tuesday night, just hours after the crash, shortly after he was discharged from the hospital and put in a Las Vegas jail.

The 22-year-old former NFL first-round draft pick was still in a wheelchair during his first court appearance on Wednesday, with a foam brace around his neck and a prison guard at his elbow. He was awaiting trial on felony charges of driving under the influence, leading to death and reckless driving. .

Although Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson stated outside the court that he believes Lagos was injured in his leg, the extent of his injury was not disclosed.

The police confirmed that Ruggs's girlfriend was 22-year-old Las Vegas native Kiara Je'nai Kilgo-Washington, who was in the car with him and was injured in the accident. Authorities said she underwent surgery on Tuesday with a serious injury to her arm.

The police and Clark County Coroner said that Las Vegas' Tina O. Tintor died with her dog in a burned Toyota Rav4. Records show that she lives a few blocks away from the accident site.

Wolfson later confirmed that they were family members, three men and one woman who attended the hearing, but refused to talk to reporters.

Las Vegas Magistrate Joe M. Bonaventure stated that he was troubled by the preliminary review of the Ruggs case and added that on the bench in 16 years, he had never heard of an accident involving a vehicle traveling so fast .

Despite this, he rejected the prosecutor Eric Bauman's request to set Ruggs' bail at $1 million. Instead, he set the bail at $150,000 with strict conditions, including home confinement, Electronic surveillance, no alcohol, no driving, and surrender of passports.

Ruggs' attorneys David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld argued that bail was legally meant to ensure their client's return to court, not to punish him.

Court records show that Ruggs paid a security deposit of $150,000 shortly after.

Bonaventure sent the former football star OJ Simpson back to prison in January 2008 for violating his pre-trial release clause in an armed robbery in Las Vegas and eventually sent Simpson to jail. The judge warned Ruggs that if he does not comply with the release restrictions, he will face another arrest and return to prison.

Wolfson said outside the court that he intends to file against Ruggs a second drunk driving felony charge related to Kilgo-Washington's injury. Bonaventure pointed out that the couple has a 3-year-old daughter.

The district attorney said he may also file a weapon charge against Ruggs for possession of a gun under the influence of alcohol. The police report said that after the accident, a loaded gun was found on the floor of the car.

Bowman told the judge that airbag computer records showed that the Corvette decelerated from 156 mph (251 km/h) to 127 mph (204 km/h), and then hit a Toyota car at around 3:40 on Tuesday morning. , Causing Toyota's fuel tank to rupture and catch fire.

Bauman said that Ruggs did not cooperate with police and medical personnel, and his blood alcohol concentration within two hours after the accident was 0.16%. Police previously stated in a statement that Lagos "showed signs of damage."

The prosecutor told the judge that since 2013, the NFL Players Association has signed a contract with the carpool service to provide members with free transportation services, "specially used to prevent such tragedies."

In Nevada, probation is not an option for convictions on allegations of death or major bodily harm caused by drunk driving. Both may serve 2 to 20 years in state prisons. Bauman told Bonaventure that if convicted, Ruggs could face up to 46 years in prison, which could increase the possibility of reckless driving for one to six years.

Property records show that Ruggs owns a $1.1 million house in a block not far from where the accident occurred.

Wolfson said investigators learned that he spent several hours at TopGolf, a sports and entertainment venue in Las Vegas on Monday night, and may have been at a friend's house for several hours before the crash.

A witness told the police that people got off a Dodge Durango SUV, which arrived and parked behind the Corvette at the scene of the accident. The police and prosecutors did not disclose who was in the car at the time. Wolfson said the investigation is continuing.

Ruggs will appear in court again on November 10.

The raiders did not wait for the court to take action and issued a brief statement on Tuesday night announcing the release of Ruggs.

Earlier in the day, the team and the league expressed their condolences to the family of the deceased and promised to collect facts about what the NFL called "this devastating event."

Ruggs should be the cornerstone of the Raiders. After three years in Alabama, he was selected with the 12th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, which included helping Crimson Tide win the NCAA championship as a freshman in 2017.

This season, he became a rising star with a team-high 469 yards and two touchdowns to complete 24 catches. As a rookie in 2020, he received 26 passes, passed 452 yards, and had two touchdowns.

Three weeks after Jon Gruden's email sent by Jon Gruden before being hired by the team abruptly resigned as Raiders coach in 2018, Rugers had a car accident. Gruden resigned after the New York Times reported that the emails contained racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments.

The AFC Western Conference's leading Raiders (5-2) have won two consecutive victories under the leadership of interim coach Rich Bisaccia and are now back on the court this week, and their leading receiver has no yards. They will visit the New York Giants (2-6) on Sunday.

Pisacha spoke to the media for the first time when speaking on Wednesday.

"First of all, we want to express our condolences to the families of the victims," ​​Bisacha said. "A person lost his life yesterday morning. We think it is important to continue to pay attention to this as we talk about this tragic incident. We are deeply saddened for everyone affected, especially the families of the victims. Having said that, we Love Henry Lagos, we want him to know this. His most terrible misjudgment is something he must endure for the rest of his life. No one here will ignore the seriousness of the situation, we understand and respect the loss life."

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press.

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