Raiders release Henry Ruggs III after deadly crash

Wide receiver Henry Ruggs III was released by the Las Vegas Raiders late Tuesday, and he is expected to be charged with felony DUI resulting in death.

Ruggs was booked into the Clark County (Nev.) Detention Center on Tuesday afternoon.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department announced Tuesday that Ruggs was the driver in an accident that caused a fatality and would face felony charges.

An accident involving the 22-year-old player happened at 3:39 a.m. local time in Las Vegas. Metro police said Ruggs was driving a Chevrolet Corvette that “was driving at a high rate of speed” when it slammed into the rear of a Toyota Rav4, causing it to catch fire. Fire department personnel responded and located a deceased victim, a female, inside the Toyota.

Ruggs remained on the scene and showed signs of impairment. He was transported to UMC hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

“Ruggs will be charged with DUI resulting in death,” LVMPD wrote on social media.

A female passenger in Ruggs’ car was also taken to the hospital but her condition — and her identity — were not released.

“The Raiders are aware of an accident involving Henry Ruggs III that occurred this morning in Las Vegas,” the Raiders said in a statement. “We are devastated by the loss of life and our thoughts and prayers go out to the victim’s family. We are in the process of gathering information and will have no further comment at this time.”

The NFL also released a statement, “Our hearts go out to the family and friends of the victim of this horrific tragedy. We will continue to gather facts and monitor the matter under our policies, but our thoughts at this time are with those impacted by this devastating incident.”

Photos from the scene showed heavy damage to both vehicles. If convicted, Ruggs would face two to 20 years in prison.

Ruggs’ attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, also released a statement.

“On behalf of our client Henry Ruggs III, we are conducting our own investigation as of this writing and ask everyone to reserve judgement until all the facts are gathered,” they wrote.

Ruggs had 24 catches for 469 yards and two touchdowns in seven starts this season for the Raiders (5-2).

Drafted in the first round in 2020 (12th overall) out of Alabama, Ruggs caught 26 passes for 452 yards and two scores in 13 games (12 starts) in his rookie season.