Henry Ruggs III has been charged with DUI causing death and reckless driving after causing a wreck on the Las Vegas strip. The incident occurred at approximately 3:39 Las Vegas time on Tuesday morning. Ruggs, who officers believe was impaired at the time of the accident, was driving at “high speeds” when he swerved and hit another vehicle. By the time help arrived at the scene, the victim’s car was on fire, and she along with her dog were announced dead at the scene. The deceased driver has not been identified at this time.
Ruggs was not alone in his car as passenger Kiara Je’nai Kilgo-Washington was taken to the hospital with serious injuries that do not appear life-threatening according to local police. Ruggs was taken to the hospital and was later transferred and booked at Clark County Detention Center.
Ruggs’ attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, have asked “everyone to reserve judgment until all the facts are gathered,” but it may be too late for that.
Since news of the crash broke Tuesday morning, there have already been over 131,000 mentions of Ruggs across social media. Of these mentions, 91.4% were scored with negative sentiment. People have not reserved their judgement, and they are not holding back on the former first round pick.
Many of the tweets call out Ruggs, or anyone for that matter, for driving drunk and how it is unacceptable in today’s times especially with access to rides from companies such as Uber or Lyft. Many of these tweets are NSFW as people take strong stands on the issue.
Other users are focused on the victim involved in this tragic incident.
Henry Ruggs throwing his entire career & life away in one night isn't even as close to as sad as the innocent person(s) that lost their life because of his dumb ass decision.
— KYLE (@YourFriendKyle_) November 2, 2021
I’m heartbroken for the family of the deceased.
There is absolutely no excuse to drink and drive, particularly with the ample amount of resources today.
Don’t drink and drive. Ever. #HenryRuggs
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) November 2, 2021
In ESPN’s article regarding the incident, they reported that “Ruggs lost a childhood friend, Rod Scott, in a car accident in 2016, and Ruggs pays tribute to him by putting up three fingers — Scott wore No. 3 — to the sky after big plays.” Social media users are keying in on this and are baffled how someone so close to this issue would still get behind the wheel while intoxicated.
Henry Ruggs would kneel and pray after every touchdown in the end zone for his best friend that died in a car accident.
It’s so damn stupid that he still drove under the influence and killed someone.
— Rick 🅙 (@RaidersLakers) November 2, 2021
https://twitter.com/fattestmallon/status/1455595573503873039
Ruggs is set to appear in court at noon eastern time today. Despite the fact that the case is still under investigation, the Las Vegas Raiders acted hastily in their decision to release Ruggs.
The Las Vegas Raiders have released WR Henry Ruggs III.
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) November 3, 2021
Furthermore, one twitter user has said his name has been removed from the locker room, and all of his merchandise has already been removed from the team store.
Just took a tour of @Raiders stadium and all of @_RUGGS merchandise has been removed. They even removed his name plate from the locker room. #HenryRuggs #ESPN #NFL pic.twitter.com/NopJO9jJYT
— Isaac Ebrom (@IsaacEbrom) November 2, 2021
If found guilty, Ruggs faces 2-20 years in prison with no parole. Local personal injury attorney, Matt Hoffmann, believes Ruggs’ career is over. Along with time in prison, Hoffmann suggests Ruggs will lose his license and face civil suits that have the potential to bankrupt the former NFL receiver. Hoffmann added that everyone deserves due process, and that this case may take a very long time to settle.
Author: Jacob Luksik
