A 23-year-old immigrant who was about to achieve citizenship died Tuesday when a football star struck her drunk at 156 miles per hour in Las Vegas.
Henry Ruggs III, former receiver of the Nevada Raiders, was double the alcohol allowed in Nevada, according to local authorities, when his luxury car Chevrolet Corvette collided from behind against the Toyota Rav4 vehicle in which Tina Tintor and her dog were traveling. Max, who was also killed in the accident.
Ruggs and his girlfriend, Kiara Je'nai Kilgo-Washington, were injured in the crash, which turned Tintor's car into a fireball.
American football player Henry Ruggs III appears before a Las Vegas judge on November 3, 2021 for the fatal run over of a migrant.Steve Marcus / AP
"The tragic loss of Tina has devastated her family beyond a pain they could never comprehend. Family was everything to Tina and she was the light of her parents' lives," her attorney, Farhan Naqvi, said in a statement. statement quoted by the New York Post newspaper.
"He offered you his shoulder to lean on him and he always made you see reason if you did something wrong," revealed his friend Bojana Filipovic.
As he explained, the young woman, born in Serbia, was about to obtain American citizenship.
[Ecuadorian athlete Alex Quiñonez is shot and killed]
The football star, now a free agent, appeared in a Las Vegas court on Wednesday in a wheelchair and wearing a neck brace.
The previous night he had been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol resulting in major bodily injury or death and reckless driving.
Ruggs was also
carrying a weapon in his vehicle
, which could lead to another serious charge.
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The judge set
bail
for him
at $ 150,000
, despite the fact that the prosecution had asked for it to be set at $ 1 million.
Legal experts estimate that he could face a maximum of 46 years behind bars.
Driving under the influence of alcohol resulting in substantial bodily injury or death and reckless driving carry maximum penalties of 20 and 6 years, respectively.
Carrying a gun while intoxicated is punishable by another 20 years, according to Brian Wall, associate dean of the University of Nevada William S. Boyd School of Law in Las Vegas.
With information from
NBC News
