Loved ones of a 23-year-old Las Vegas woman have been left emotionally paralyzed since she was killed, allegedly by a drunken pro football player who slammed into the back of her car.
Tina Tintor, who died early Tuesday in a fiery wreck involving now-former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III, spent her final hours hanging out with her dog and a friend in a park near the victim’s grandmother’s home, 25-year-old brother Djordje Tintor said.
The grieving sibling said his parents are devastated and struggling to hold it together in the wake of their only daughter’s unexpected and violent death.
“I’ll be fine, I can manage but they’re not good, that’s what I’m worried about,” Tintor told NBC News of his parents on Wednesday. “Sometimes I can’t even look at them, it just breaks my heart.”
The victim, who died along with her dog, had recently started a work-from-home customer service job for an insurance company with hopes for a career in computer programing, her brother said.
Ruggs was arrested and booked on suspicion of DUI resulting in death and serious bodily injury and reckless driving in connection to the 3:39 a.m. Tuesday crash near South Rainbow Boulevard and Spring Valley Parkway.
Social media postings by Ruggs and girlfriend Kiara Je’nai Kilgo-Washington showed the pair enjoying themselves at a Las Vegas driving range hours before the fatal crash. The Raiders were off this past weekend and their next game is Sunday at the New York Giants.
Eyewitness accounts in a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police report painted a gruesome picture of the crash scene and Tintor’s desperate fight to survive just after Rugg’s Corvette blasted into the back of her Toyota Rav4 at 127 mph.
Ruggs had been traveling at 156 mph just 2.5 seconds earlier, and the impact on the Toyota’s gas tank sent the vehicle up in flames.
Alexander Hart, a security guard at nearby condo complex, “heard screaming coming from the area of the Toyota so he went to render aid there,” according to a report by LVMPD Detective Dwaine McCuistion.
“He attempted to extract the driver but was soon overcome with smoke and heat from the flames,” McCuistion wrote.
Motorist Tony Rodriguez was on Spring Valley Parkway when he pulled over to Tintor’s burning car, he told police.
“Mr. Rodriguez stated he tried to extract the driver of the Toyota as it was on fire,” according to McCuistion’s report.
“He stated he grabbed the driver and tried to pull her out of the car but she was stuck or pinned in the car. Mr. Rodriguez then explained how he was overcome with smoke and heat from the fire and had to back away from the car.”
Ruggs posted $150,000 bail and was ordered to return to court this coming Wednesday.
After Ruggs’ initial court appearance on Wednesday, defense lawyer David Chesnoff urged the public to reserve judgement until all investigations are complete. He declined to comment on his client’s speedometer allegedly reaching 156 mph.
“We’re going to investigate the case. We’re going to adjudicate it in the courtroom,” Chesnoff told reporters. “This is America, he’s entitled to his day in court.”
The Raiders cut Ruggs, who played in just their second season in Las Vegas after moving from Oakland.
