Former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III has pleaded guilty to killing a woman and her dog while drink-driving in 2021.
The 24-year-old will avoid a trial but is expected to be jailed for three to 10 years under the terms of his plea agreement.
Ruggs was driving up to 156mph when he crashed into Tina Tintor’s car, causing it to burst into flames.
He was found to be more than twice the legal drink-drive limit in Nevada.
Ruggs pleaded guilty to one count of DUI (driving under the influence) resulting in death and one count of misdemeanour vehicular manslaughter at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas.
The minimum three-year sentence cannot be reduced by converting the 18 months Ruggs has spent on house arrest to time already served.
He would have faced a mandatory minimum of two years in prison but potentially up to 50 years had he been convicted at trial.
District Attorney Steven B Wolfson said in a statement that the charge of driving under the influence resulting in death was “the most serious charge the law allows” when someone dies as the result of a drunken driver’s actions.
Other charges against Ruggs were dismissed under the plea agreement, including felony reckless driving, driving under the influence causing substantial injury to a passenger in his car – his girlfriend Kiara Je’nai Kilgo-Washington – and a misdemeanour gun charge stemming from the discovery by police of a loaded gun in his car, which Ruggs agreed to forfeit.
Ruggs joined Las Vegas Raiders as 12th overall pick in the 2020 draft but was released the day after the crash in November 2021.