Former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III said he wishes he could “turn back the hands of time” while speaking at an event Tuesday about his 2021 drunk driving car crash that left a woman dead.
Ruggs, 26, was granted special release from prison to speak at a Hope For Prisoners event, the group said in a Facebook post.
He was sentenced to three to 10 years after he pleaded guilty in 2023 to a felony count of DUI resulting in death and misdemeanor manslaughter. The crash was the result of drunk driving and speeding and killed 23-year-old Tina Tintor.
“It’s an unfortunate situation that I’m sure we all wish we can make some choices again and turn back the hands of time,” he said in a livestream of the event. “I never saw myself in that type of situation.”
Ruggs said he never planned on driving that night.
Police said Ruggs was driving his Corvette at 156 mph while drunk when he crashed into Tintor’s vehicle on Nov. 2, 2021. She died of thermal injuries after the car caught fire, the medical examiner’s office said. Her dog also died in the crash.
When asked what he would say to Tintor’s family, Ruggs responded: “I would love for them to meet the real Henry Ruggs and not the one that was escaping from something.”
“I sincerely apologize for not only being a part of that situation, but the fact that my face is always in the news, my face is always in the newspaper, so they have to constantly be reminded of the situation,” he continued.
The former NFL athlete, who attended the University of Alabama, was drafted by the Raiders in 2020, but was dropped from the team hours after the crash. Ruggs said he would love the opportunity to play football again and would be open to returning to the Raiders.
“I would love to come and go out gracefully,” he said. “I don’t feel like I ended on the terms that are meaningful to me and that I value.”
