The Las Vegas Raiders released wide receiver Henry Ruggs III Tuesday night, hours after police said he was involved in a fatal DUI crash that killed a 23-year-old woman.
Ruggs, 22, is charged with DUI, which leads to death, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department previously announced.
The athlete was reportedly behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Corvette that crashed into the tailgate of a Toyota Rav4 at 3:39 a.m. The Toyota caught fire, the police said.
The Corvette was traveling at high speed, the police said in a statement.
The driver of the Toyota was trapped in the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. The deceased woman was not identified in the police statement until the next of kin were notified.
Ruggs “stayed there and showed signs of impairment,” police said on Tuesday.
He was outside of Alabama in his sophomore year. In 20 games of his young NFL career with the Raiders, Ruggs had caught 50 passes for 921 yards and four touchdowns.
Ruggs attorneys, David Z. Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, issued an earlier statement calling on 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 lawyers said on Tuesday.
The Clark County Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the charges Ruggs would face on Tuesday after business hours.
The Raiders and the National Football League said in separate statements Tuesday that their thoughts were with the family and friends of the victim.
Tuesday night’s online court records suggest Ruggs is facing charges of DUI and reckless driving, both of which are listed as crimes. According to online prison records, he was detained in jail on Tuesday night without ties.
