Henry Ruggs crash: Tina Tintor’s horrified mom recognized her burning car on TV news
The devastated mother of the young woman who burned to death on Tuesday after Henry Ruggs' Chevrolet Corvette smashed into her SUV in Las Vegas reportedly recognized her daughter's burning car on the news.
Former Las Vegas Raider Henry Ruggs III, 22, was allegedly inebriated at around 3:39 am on Tuesday, November 2, when he crashed his 2020 Chevrolet Corvette into 23-year-old Tina Tintor’s Toyota RAV4, killing her and her pet dog. Police said Ruggs was twice the legal alcohol limit when he drove at 156 miles per hour and attempted to slow down before slamming the SUV.
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In an interview with The Sun, Tintor's best friend Bojana Filipovic recalled a conversation with her mother, who allegedly recognized her daughter's vehicle on TV news reports. “Hey this could be her car, I checked the news,” she told Filipovic, who had woken up on Tuesday and was concerned that her friend was involved in the deadly car accident on Rainbow Boulevard nearby the Sunset Strip. “I knew immediately it was going to be her car,” Filipovic told The Sun. “I was distraught. I was just hoping it wasn’t her.”
Ruggs appeared in a neck brace and sat on a wheelchair in court Wednesday as he faced felony charges of driving under the influence of alcohol resulting in death and reckless driving. Justice of the Peace Joe Bonaventure set the wide receiver's bail at $150,000 with the highest level of electronic monitoring.
Meanwhile, Tintor's heartbroken family made preparations to bury her beloved daughter. “They’re going to look into funeral arrangements today,” Filipovic said. “Her mom is keeping in touch with me.” She added that Tintor's boyfriend has been left "crushed" by the loss.
This is Tina Tintor and her dog Maxi. The two were killed in a DUI crash involving ex-Raider Henry Ruggs III. Tonight at 10 on @FOX5Vegas hear from her best friend who was just dropped off by her minutes before the crash Tuesday morning pic.twitter.com/3W4vPKnyja
— Drew Andre (@DrewJandre) November 4, 2021
Filipovic said she had been spending time with her best friend's extended family. “I went to visit the family yesterday, all her grandparents were round there, with her pictures around the table,” she said, remembering Tintor as a principled person who had both good looks and charm. “She was beautiful, smart, intuitive, she always knew right from wrong,” Filipovic reflected. “She would always slap some sense into me.”
Filipovic said Tintor would lighten up their close circle of friends when they went out in the city. “She was like a little closed off, a little shell, but she did enjoy going out with a lot of her close friends,” the friend recalled. "Everybody that we meet in Vegas ends up being crazy, we have a ton of stories, but she had a group of close friends who are good people.” The duo enjoyed a quiet walk at a local park on Tintor's last night alive. “I left her at 3:30 and she got into the crash 15 minutes later,” the mourning pal recalled. “We were just hanging out at the park and then going home.”
This is Tina Tintor. She was a hard-working and beautiful Serbian immigrant, who adored her dog, Maxi. She burned to death bc a savage monster thought it was funny to drive 156 mph in a residential zone. pic.twitter.com/hCsDjDHwEL
— A.J. Delgado (@AJDelgado13) November 4, 2021
Filipovic said she'd been overwhelmed with grief and regret following the tragedy. “I feel guilty, the fact that we were both trying to figure out ‘Shall we hang out another day?’ I was like, ‘Let’s do it,'" she told The Sun. Meanwhile, Filipovic also highlighted how Tintor was all about safety when she was on the road. “She was also a great driver, she would never let me speed,” the devastated pal added.