Raiders release WR Henry Ruggs III after deadly Las Vegas crash.
Ruggs, 22, was allegedly driving when his car slammed into a Toyota early Tuesday, killing the driver of that vehicle
The Las Vegas Raiders released wide receiver Henry Ruggs III on Tuesday night, hours after police said he was involved in a fatal DUI crash that killed a 23-year-old woman.
Ruggs, 22, will be charged with DUI resulting in death, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said earlier.
The athlete was allegedly behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Corvette that slammed into the back of a Toyota Rav4 at 3:39 a.m. The Toyota caught fire, police said.
The Corvette had been traveling at a high rate of speed, police said in a statement.
The driver of the Toyota was trapped in the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. The woman who died was not identified in the police statement, pending notification of next of kin.
Ruggs “remained on scene and showed signs of impairment,” police said Tuesday.
He was in his second year out of Alabama. In 20 games of his young NFL career with the Raiders, Ruggs had caught 50 passes for 921 yards and four touchdowns.
Ruggs’ lawyers, David Z. Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, in an earlier statement, asked the public to withhold judgment.
“On behalf of our client Henry Ruggs III, we are conducting our own investigation as of this writing and ask everyone to reserve judgment until all the facts are gathered,” the attorneys said Tuesday.
The Clark County district attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment after business hours Tuesday as to the charges Ruggs would face.
The Raiders and the National Football League in separate statements earlier Tuesday said their thoughts were with the family and friends of the victim.
Online court records Tuesday night suggest Ruggs faces one count each of DUI and reckless driving, both of which are listed as felonies. He was being held in jail without bond Tuesday night, according to online jail records.
