The Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III was arrested in a fatal DUI crash early Tuesday, police said.
Ruggs was behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Corvette that crashed into the rear of a Toyota Rav4 at 3:39 a.m. PDT near South Rainbow Boulevard and South Spring Valley Parkway, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement.
Wide receiver Henry Ruggs III # 11 of the Las Vegas Raiders leaves the field after the team’s 9-20 loss to the Chicago Bears at Allegiant Stadium on October 10, 2021 in Las Vegas.Ethan Miller / Getty Images File
The Toyota went up in flames and firefighters found “a dead victim inside,” police said. Police later said the 23-year-old Toyota driver was trapped in the driver’s seat and pronounced dead at the scene.
Ruggs “stayed on site and showed signs of impairment” before being rushed to hospital for non-life threatening injuries, law enforcement officials said. A passenger in Chevrolet was also injured and taken to hospital for treatment, police said.
Ruggs is charged with DUI, which leads to death, police said. He was booked by the hospital in absentia.
The fatal crash occurred just six kilometers west of the Raiders’ home field, the Allegiant Stadium.
The player’s lawyers, David Z. Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, urged the public to withhold the verdict.
“On behalf of our client Henry Ruggs III, we are currently conducting our own investigations and are asking everyone to reserve judgment until all the facts are gathered,” the attorneys said in a statement.
Ruggs, 22, is in his sophomore year outside of Alabama. In 20 games of his young NFL career with the Raiders, Ruggs has caught 50 passes for 921 yards and four touchdowns.
Once officially charged by prosecutors, Ruggs will likely be moved to the NFL commissioner’s exemption list and not eligible to apply. Next up, the Raiders will play the New York Giants on the streets on Sunday.
“Our hearts go out to the family and friends of the victim of this terrible tragedy,” said a league statement. “We will continue to gather facts and monitor the matter as part of our guidelines, but our thoughts right now with those affected by this devastating incident.”
Police said evidence suggests the Corvette was traveling at “high speed” prior to the crash. It was in the middle of three lanes heading north and “turned right and drove into the far right lane occupied by the Toyota,” police said in a statement.
The Chevrolet crashed into the back of the Toyota and the Toyota came to a final rest and caught fire while the driver was trapped, the police statement said.
The raiders said they were aware of the arrest of Ruggs and were “in the process of gathering information”.
“We are devastated at the loss of life and our thoughts and prayers go with the victim’s family,” the club said in a brief statement.
This marks the second season of the Oakland-rooted franchise in Southern Nevada, a short time that has already been tumultuous.
Home games at their luxurious $ 2 billion home, Allegiant Stadium, were played without fans in the stands due to the coronavirus pandemic.
And just three weeks ago, Raiders head coach Jon Gruden was forced to resign after leaked emails showed his writings contained racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments.
Brooke Glatz and Phil Helsel contributed to this.
