Las Vegas Raiders release receiver Henry Ruggs III after he was charged with DUI following a crash that left 1 dead

By Amir Vera and Amy Simonson, CNN

The Las Vegas Raiders released wide receiver Henry Ruggs III Tuesday night after he was charged with driving under the influence (DUI) resulting in a death after his car rear-ended another car and left one person dead, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

LVMPD responded to the crash early Tuesday — around 3:39 a.m. — near an intersection where they found a Chevrolet Corvette and a Toyota RAV4 that was on fire. Firefighters responded and found a person dead inside the Toyota, police said.

A LVMPD news release said the Corvette was in the center lane driving at a high rate of speed before veering to the right lane, where the Toyota was, and rear-ended the Toyota. The Toyota came to a stop and caught fire with the driver trapped in the driver’s seat, the release said.

“The preliminary investigation indicates the front of the Chevrolet collided with the rear of the Toyota,” LVMPD said in a Twitter thread.

Ruggs, 22, was identified as the driver of the Chevrolet and remained on scene where he was showing signs of impairment, police said. He and a passenger were taken to University Medical Center of Southern Nevada with non-life threatening injuries.

Police said in their release the driver of the Corvette was “booked in absentia” while he was at UMC. He is currently being held at the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas, according to online records.

Ruggs faces one count of a DUI resulting in substantial bodily harm and one count of reckless driving, according to the Clark County Detention Center website.

Ruggs is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday, according to his attorney.

David Chesnoff, Ruggs’ lawyer, released a statement to CNN affiliate KNTV Tuesday.

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

The Raiders also released a statement earlier Tuesday saying they were aware of the crash.

“We are devastated by the loss of life and our thoughts and prayers go out to the victim’s family,” the team’s statement read. “We are in the process of gathering information and will have no further comment at this time.”

The Raiders drafted Ruggs in 2020 as the 12th pick in the first round, according to the NFL. He was a wide receiver at the University of Alabama where he finished his collegiate career ranking third in touchdown receptions, according to his profile on the school’s website.

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CNN’s Shawn Nottingham contributed to this report.