Las Vegas fire officials have released 911 calls from the now-former Raiders star Henry Ruggs’ deadly high-speed DUI crash, revealing confusion among witnesses who initially did not realize that there was a woman burning alive with her dog inside her SUV.
Ruggs, 22, on Wednesday was formally charged with felony DUI resulting in death, DUI resulting in substantial bodily harm and two reckless driving felony charges, along with a misdemeanor count of possessing a gun under the influence of alcohol.
Ruggs was not present during his arraignment. He was represented in court by his lawyers, who asked the judge to waive his appearance without offering an explanation for his absence.
Attorneys David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld petitioned the court to deny the prosecutors’ request seeking to obtain medical records of Ruggs’ girlfriend, reported 8NewsNow.
Judge Suzan Baucum said that it was an unusual request and scheduled a hearing for December 8 to deliver her ruling on the matter.
Newly released 911 calls reveal that Las Vegas first responders initially misidentified the SUV of the victim in the Henry Ruggs crash (left) as a Lamborghini and didn’t realize right away that she was trapped inside
Ruggs’ customized Chevy Corvette is pictured being hauled away after the deadly November 2 high-speed crash in Las Vegas
The disgraced football player is accused of getting behind the wheel of his customized Chevrolet Corvette after a night of drinking, and driving at a speed of 156mph just before crashing into 23-year-old Tina Tintor’s Toyota RAV4 on the morning of November 2.
The woman’s SUV became engulfed in flames, killing Tintor and her golden retriever, Maxi, which was inside the vehicle.
Newly released recordings of 911 calls from the morning of the crash shed light on what was happening at the scene in the moments after the crash, as Tintor was screaming in agony inside her burning Toyota, and Ruggs and his girlfriend were locked in a dazed embrace in the street.
In one of the recordings, a dispatcher erroneously claims that a woman heard yelling for help is ‘trapped in a Lamborghini and the Lamborghini is on fire.’
In fact, Tintor was trapped in her silver Toyota SUV, and Ruggs and his girlfriend, Kiara ‘Rudy’ Kilgo-Washington, were in his green Corvette Stingray. No Lamborghini was involved in the accident.
The dispatcher then corrects herself, saying that the vehicle on fire is a silver SUV, but she says ‘it doesn’t appear that anybody is inside the vehicle that’s on fire.’
Now-former Las Vegas Raiders star Henry Ruggs, 22 (left), on Wednesday was formally arraigned on four felony counts and a weapons misdemeanor in connection with a deadly crash that killed Tina Tintor, 23, and her dog, Maxi (right)
Friends of Tina Tintor light a candle on November 4 at a roadside memorial near the site where she and her dog Max died
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On a subsequent call, the dispatcher relays the information that it is now believed there is, in fact, someone inside the burning SUV.
‘Alrighty, I’ll let them know,’ another emergency operator replies.
A third 911 call summons a second ambulance to the scene to transport Ruggs and his girlfriend to the hospital to be treated for their injuries.
Witnesses made attempts to rescue Tintor from her vehicle, but the young Serbian immigrant, who was on the verge of obtaining her US citizenship, could not be saved.
Hours later, another dispatcher placed a call, requesting equipment to help remove Tintor’s body from the burned-out Toyota.
‘So [I] wanted to know if they can get your heavy rescue en route so that the coroner can get the body out of the vehicle,’ she says, adding, incorrectly, that the woman was ‘in a Lamborghini.’
Prosecutors say Ruggs was drunk when he got behind the wheel of his car with his girlfriend, Kiara ‘Rudy’ Kilgo-Washington (right), in the passenger seat. He was clocked doing 156mph just before the crash
Ruggs is pictured during his initial court appearance. He was released from jail after posting $150,000 bail and placed under house arrest
‘Oh my,’ the man on the other end of the line exclaims. ‘Joy ride, huh?’
Prosecutors say Ruggs’ blood alcohol level was nearly twice the legal limit and he was going at 156mph moments before the crash. His vehicle’s speed slowed down to 127mph on impact after his airbags deployed.
Ruggs could face up to 52 years in prison if convicted of the charges against him, four of which are felonies.
The 22-year-old was released from jail to house arrest after posting $150,000 bail.
Under the conditions of his release, Ruggs is being tested for alcohol four times a day in lieu of wearing an ankle monitor, which he cannot do because of his injuries sustained in the crash.
Ruggs has been prohibited from consuming alcohol and other controlled substances, reported KLAS. He is also not allowed to operate a vehicle, must surrender his passport and remain in Las Vegas.
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