NFL player Henry Ruggs III was drunk and driving 156 miles per hour when he killed a woman Tuesday after his vehicle slammed into her SUV. Newly discovered video shows it was not his first time being reckless on the road, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.
The video appears to show Ruggs revving his vehicle’s engine and hurtling down a Las Vegas street while his girlfriend, Kiara Kilgo-Washington, begs him to slow down.
“You look scared,” Ruggs tells Kilgo-Washington, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Kilgo-Washington can be heard in the video saying “just don’t do it no more,” according to the newspaper, which reported about the video clip before it was removed from YouTube on Friday morning.
In the clip, Kilgo-Washington asks what Ruggs intends to do next. His response: “Launch. What rockets do. Take off,” according to the newspaper.
The 8-minute recording was posted to Kilgo-Washington’s YouTube channel last September with the title “Wild Out Wednesdays” and the caption “SLOW DOWNNN” followed by smiley emojis.
The footage appeared to show Ruggs driving a Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, which is the same type of vehicle he crashed Tuesday, killing 23-year-old Tina Tintor and her dog.
The recording shows Kilgo-Washington dropping her phone when the vehicle abruptly darts forward, at which point she tells Ruggs to “take me back to the house.”
“Don’t try stuff with me in here,” Kilgo-Washington can be heard saying, according to the Review-Journal. “Take me back to the house.”
In the early-morning crash on Tuesday, prosecutors allege that Ruggs’ blood-alcohol content was twice the legal limit.
Following the crash, Kilgo-Washington could be seen cradling Ruggs on the ground while vehicle wreckage went up in flames, according to witness video obtained by TMZ.
Kilgo-Washington suffered what authorities said was a “significant” injury to her wrist. Ruggs sustained injuries to his legs. He and Kilgo-Washington are the parents of a young daughter.
At a court appearance on Wednesday, Ruggs was seen in a neck brace and was in a wheelchair. He faces felony charges of driving under the influence of alcohol resulting in death and reckless driving.
David Chesnoff, Ruggs’ defense lawyer, told the court that Ruggs is “a young man who has never been in trouble before. From what we understand, never a traffic violation.”
However, Nevada Highway Patrol records show that officers issued Ruggs two citations in April for using a cellphone while driving and driving with an out-of-state license for more than a year. He still had the out-of-state license during Tuesday’s incident, according to the newspaper.
Hours after the fatal crash, the Las Vegas Raiders cut Ruggs from the team.
Tintor’s family said in a written statement that they are shattered by her loss.
“Tina’s tragic loss has devastated her family beyond a grief they could ever comprehend,” the statement reads, according to CNN.
Ruggs posted a $150,000 bond on Wednesday. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.
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[Featured Photo; Henry Ruggs III/Clark County Detention Center]
