The Accident

Former Las Vegas Raider WR Heny Ruggs III has been arrested for Felony DUI resulting in fatality and felony reckless driving.

The above video was obtained from TMZ Sports.

WARNING – GRAPHIC CONTENT.

Prior to the accident that killed a 23 year old woman, Henry Ruggs III was identified to be travelling at a speed of 156mph, all while having a blood alcohol content twice the legal limit for the state of Nevada which is .08.

Ruggs’s speed was recorded with the onboard computer from Ruggs’s Corvette and captured on a store security camera just over a block from where the accident occurred.

The Prosecutor stated that Ruggs had decelerated from 156 to 127 mph as recorded from the airbag deployment computer onboard Ruggs’s vehicle.

(I am not mentioning the name of the young woman killed due to respect to her family.)

The Prosecutor has decided to add a midemeanor gun charge to Ruggs after a loaded gun was found in Ruggs’s car during the accident investigation.

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Restrictions

Sitting in his wheelchair surrounded closely by two officers to ensure his custody, the prosecutor requested bail to be set at $1,000,000 but the Justice of the Peace rejected his request and set the bail at $150,000, which the former Raider posted hours after.

Outside of being released from the Las Vegas Raiders, his career is in complete jeopardy, and his health being significantly at risk, the judge has ordered the following restrictions until Ruggs is scheduled to return to court.

• Home Confinement
• Electric Monitoring
• No Alcohol
• No Driving
• Surrender Passport

Ultimately, the rejection of the $1M bail request by prosecutors was to encourage Ruggs to be cooperative with the court and to ensure he returns to court for his scheduled hearings.

More Details

The Prosecutor, Eric Bauman, stated that the airbag data showed a deceleration from 156 to 127 mph, but that kind of deceleration does not negate the impact force applied to the collision.

This is just the beginning.

The Raiders have released the young WR, which releases any future money he would have received from the club outside of any guaranteed money.

Due to the results of the collision, the faimly of the deceased driver is likely to sue for suffering and damages, which could ultimately go after any financial gains the receiver had made in the last 2 seasons.

The legal battles are going to be significant because of loss of life and depending on the laws of Nevada, it’s likely it won’t end at the criminal level, and a long civil suit might follow.

Road Ahead

Henry Ruggs is only 22. It’s a tragedy. The woman killed was only 23. Loss of life is the depest tragedy.

The extent of resources available to prevent these tragedies, especially in Las Vegas, is overwhelming, and with a prominent career on the horizon, the selfishness and ego of a high profile player plays a significant factor in judgement calls without any added influences.

Ruggs III was drunk, he was driving in speeds excess of 150mph, with a passenger, in Vegas in the early morning.

The single decision to drive while drunk at those high speeds may have taken seconds to make, but the victims family will live with it forever.