Witness to Ruggs-involved crash recalls trying to save woman

LAS VEGAS — One of the first radical to respond to Tuesday morning's fiery car clang involving Las Vegas Raiders' wide receiver Henry Ruggs III says helium did everything helium could to help.

Tony Rodriguez was 1 of the archetypal witnesses to get astatine the country aft constabulary accidental Ruggs' Corvette plowed into 23-year-old Tina Tintor's car astatine a velocity of astir 156 mph, sidesplitting her.

"I thought for definite we were going to beryllium capable to bash something. The occurrence was truthful tiny astatine the time," Rodriguez said. "It conscionable grew fast. Really fast. There was 1 idiosyncratic with a occurrence extinguisher, a region worker. That didn't work. It wasn't enough. It was conscionable truthful fast."

Rodriguez said that Tintor was inactive live erstwhile helium arrived connected the scene.

"She was really inactive alive. You could perceive her breathing. She had her spot loop on, and I was trying to chopped that away," Rodriguez said. "(I was) trying to drawback them by their shoulders and propulsion them out, but that wasn't working. They were pinned. The spot loop was on, the airbags were successful the way, and the doorway was jammed."

As the occurrence successful the car spread, minutes began to look similar hours for Rodriguez.

"It had to beryllium much than 10 minutes. It felt similar a lifetime," helium said.

Unfortunately, Rodriguez's efforts couldn't prevention Tintor. She was pronounced dormant astatine the scene.

It wasn't until aft the mishap that Rodriguez noticed helium inactive had Tintor's humor connected his hands.

He says the incidental was burned into his representation forever. He added that helium isn't definite if he'll ever beryllium capable to be Raiders games oregon events astatine their stadium successful the future.

"My lad wanted to spell to the stadium to ticker the shot game, and I was going to spell to a concert, and I don't deliberation I'm going to go," Rodriguez said. "I haven't slept since the accident. It's horrific. It's bittersweet that idiosyncratic could beryllium going that accelerated and origin that mishap similar that."

Rodriguez offered a connection of condolences to Tintor's family.

"I'm sorry," helium said. "I tried everything I could — my friend, arsenic well. I'm sorry."

Tintor's canine besides died successful the crash.

Ruggs made his archetypal tribunal quality connected Wednesday and faces charges of DUI causing decease and reckless driving charges.

This communicative was primitively published by Bree Guy connected Scripps presumption KTNV successful Las Vegas.