Former NFL wide receiver Henry Ruggs III left the Nevada Department of Corrections’ Casa Grande Transitional Housing on Tuesday night to share his story at a Hope for Prisoners event in Las Vegas, and during his appearance apologized to the family of the woman whose death led to his incarceration.
The former Montgomery high school star and Alabama wide receiver is in prison for his role in a traffic crash that took Tina Tintor’s life.
“One, that I wish I could turn back the hands of time,” Ruggs said on Tuesday night when asked what he would say to Tintor’s family. “I would love for them to meet the real Henry Ruggs and not the one that was escaping from something. I sincerely apologize for not only being a part of that situation, but the fact that — not to take a shot at you — but the fact that my face is always in the news. My face is always in the newspaper, so they have to be constantly reminded of the situation, be reminded of me and see, you know, those memories have to continue to rise because of all the fame and notoriety that I have, which I never asked for, I never liked. So I would just tell them that.
“Like I said, I deeply apologize for just being a part of that. And I wish they could meet the real Henry Ruggs and not one who was just running away from everything.”
Las Vegas-based Hope for Prisoners “assists with re-entry by providing the formerly incarcerated long-term support and services as they work to reclaim their lives, families and standing in the community.”
In May 2023, Ruggs pleaded guilty to one count of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or controlled or prohibited substance resulting in death and one count of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter after reaching a plea arrangement with the Clark County (Nevada) District Attorney’s Office.
Originally, Ruggs had been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and/or controlled or prohibited substance resulting in death, driving under the influence of alcohol and/or controlled or prohibited substance resulting in death or substantial bodily harm, two counts of reckless driving resulting in death or substantial bodily harm and possession of a gun under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
In August 2023, Judge Jennifer Schwartz of the 8th Judicial Court chose to follow the plea agreement and sentenced Ruggs to from 36 to 120 months in prison for the first count and six months in prison for the second count.
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The State of Nevada contended Ruggs was at fault in a deadly accident that occurred in Las Vegas at 3:39 a.m. Nov. 2, 2021. That’s when a Corvette driven by Ruggs struck a Toyota RAV4 driven by Tintor, a 23-year-old Las Vegas resident. Tintor and her dog Max died in the wreck.
“It’s an unfortunate situation that we wish – I’m sure we all wish we could make some choices again and turn back the hands of time,” Ruggs said on Tuesday night. “Granted, I never saw myself in that type of situation, and it eats me every day I wake up because not only was I responsible for a life being taken but also lost my best friend in a car accident. So now I’m living with not only the guilt of not driving him, but the guilt of hurting someone else with me behind the wheel. So everyday I’m thinking, ‘What else could I have done? How could I change that situation?’ And it kind of just makes me kind of hyperfocus on things now because I don’t need to escape from anything.”
In 2016, Ruggs’ best friend, Rod Scott, died in a traffic accident while traveling from Montgomery to Birmingham to attend the AHSAA girls’ basketball tournament. Ruggs had planned to drive his brother, Kevontae, and Scott to Birmingham, but he did not because he was sick.
The Las Vegas police department reported tests on Ruggs at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada within two hours of the accident showed he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.161 percent. The legal limit in Nevada is 0.08 percent.
“I’m not even a big user,” Ruggs said on Tuesday night about the role that alcohol played in the fatal wreck, “but started to indulge in things and trying to balance life and football but putting football on the forefront but still trying to escape back into life. It kind of – it just didn’t mix.”
Law-enforcement authorities said Ruggs’ Corvette was traveling at 156 mph 2.5 seconds before impact and 127 mph at the time of the collision with Tintor’s car.
The Clark County Office of the Coroner determined Tintor died from “thermal injuries due to a motor-vehicle collision.” The Coroner’s Office also determined that significant conditions contributing to Tintor’s death “were inhalation of products of combustion, fractures of the nasal bones, right-sided ribs and left forearm, and a left hemothorax.” (A hemothorax is a collection of blood in the space between the chest wall and the lung.)
After his bail was set at $150,000 on Nov. 3, 2021, Ruggs was released into an electronic-monitoring program.
The original date for the preliminary hearing in Ruggs’ case had been Dec. 16, 2021, and it was rescheduled to March 10, May 19 and Sept. 7 in 2022 and Feb. 1 and May 4 in 2023 without ever taking place.
The delays were caused by the wait for a 47-page police report, a defense request for more time to inspect the evidence, a dispute over judges and court assignment and a challenge to the legality of the blood draw that yielded incriminating evidence after Ruggs declined to submit to a field sobriety test.
When Ruggs was sentenced in 2023, he read a statement that addressed Tintor’s family.
“To the family and parents of Miss Tintor, I sincerely apologize for the pain and suffering my actions the morning of Nov. 2, 2021, have caused you, your family and everyone who knew and loved Miss Tina and Max,” Ruggs said. “I also let my family, teammates and those who believed in me down with my actions. It hurt so many. Over the past 21 months, I’ve searched for a way to find the answers for my selfish behavior on that day. I have no excuse and pray that accepting responsibility with my guilty plea can allow me to begin the healing process and allow everyone involved to heal also.”
Tuesday night’s appearance was the first time that Ruggs had been heard from since that statement.
Nevada Department of Corrections records show Ruggs’ earliest parole-eligibility date as Aug. 5, 2026, with a mandatory date of July 4, 2027, for parole-release consideration.
Nevada inmates with sentences of at least three years, excluding life sentences, receive mandatory-parole-release consideration unless they have a consecutive Nevada sentence to serve, have been released on parole previously for that sentence, or are considered by the Parole Board to be a danger to public safety.
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At Lee High School (now renamed Julian High School) in Montgomery, Ruggs received All-State recognition in 2015 and 2016. As a senior, he earned the Alabama Sports Writers Association Class 7A Back of the Year Award.
A freshman on Alabama’s CFP national-championship team for the 2017 season, Ruggs had 98 receptions for 1,716 yards and 24 touchdowns in three seasons with the Crimson Tide.
After he caught 40 passes for 746 yards and seven touchdowns in 2019 for Alabama and ran the fastest 40-yard dash at 4.27 seconds at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine, Ruggs joined the Raiders as the 12th selection of the 2020 NFL Draft.
At the time of his arrest, Ruggs had 50 receptions for 921 yards and four touchdowns in 20 games for Las Vegas. The Raiders released Ruggs on the same day the wreck occurred.
On Tuesday night, Ruggs was asked if he would play for the Raiders again, if given the opportunity after his release.
“Why would I not?” Ruggs said.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at@AMarkG1.