OT: Raiders WR Henry Ruggs charged with DUI resulting in death
Title says most of it. It's sad that people continue to be killed by something totally preventable. Hope the link works as this is my first thread post.
November 2nd, 2021 at 2:47 PM ^
So so sad
November 2nd, 2021 at 4:30 PM ^
Replying here if only to share my experience more visibly.
I was going through a divorce, and my soon-to-be ex-wife and I were sort of reconciling. She ended up getting pregnant and I was over the moon.
Little did I know that she decided to end the pregnancy without telling me til afterwards.
I lost my mind and went on a bender after almost never drinking. I was lost emotionally and physically and was blackout drunk.
I made the shitty decision to get in my car and drive.
Thankfully - I didn't get too far before crashing my OWN car in a 1-car accident.
I thanked everything there is out there that I didn't make my situation worse and end the life of another person after hearing about the death of my future child.
Moral of the story - there is NO good goddamn reason to drive drunk - no matter how devastated and destroyed you are on the inside.
November 2nd, 2021 at 2:54 PM ^
Sad story. Hurt for the family who lost a loved one. So so senseless. 4am, get a driver...
November 2nd, 2021 at 3:40 PM ^
Seriously, like 2 clicks on your mobile and none of this happens. SMDH.
November 2nd, 2021 at 3:52 PM ^
not only did she die she BURNED TO DEATH because a drunk millionaire rear ended her car causing it to catch on fire. All because he is too damn self centered and selfish to call a ride service and needs to show off to his date.
Beyond disgusted, hope he gets the maximum sentence
November 2nd, 2021 at 4:32 PM ^
Really? I have not seen these details.
That is my biggest fear.
November 2nd, 2021 at 2:54 PM ^
My heart goes out to the family of that innocent victim. So sad.
Ruggs career is over and hopefully he'll have plenty of time to think about his actions while behind bars.
November 2nd, 2021 at 2:56 PM ^
I wouldn’t say his career is over. Stallworth came back and played 3 seasons after killing somebody drunk. But he’s got a long road to coming back. I personally do not think he should play again, but it’s the NFL, and if you can help a team you’ll most likely find a home.
November 2nd, 2021 at 3:02 PM ^
With Stallworth I think they said he wasn't at fault despite being drunk. TBD if that is the case here. Could be looking at a much longer sentence.
November 2nd, 2021 at 3:10 PM ^
This is my recollection too. Not to excuse drunk driving by any means, but they found that even if he wasn’t impaired he likely would’ve hit/killed the guy.
November 2nd, 2021 at 3:34 PM ^
Ruggs was street racing. I can't imagine this will be a light sentence.
November 2nd, 2021 at 3:49 PM ^
How is it possible to be drunk driving but somehow not at fault? Holy shit windshield bias.
November 2nd, 2021 at 4:03 PM ^
Well in Stallworths case a pedestrian hopped a barrier and crossed a high speed road (freeway?)in front of him, not at an intersection or crosswalk. Stallworth wasn't speeding excessively and they determined that any car would not have been able to stop in time.
If a sober person crosses the yellow line and hits a drunk person, you really going to blame the drunk person?
This does not appear to be the case with Ruggs.
November 2nd, 2021 at 4:09 PM ^
OK, how about this? You are driving drunk, just over the legal limit at .10. You are driving down a two-lane highway at night, in a rural area, no street lights and an overcast sky. Another drunk guy (much drunker than you) stops his car around a blind curve with his lights off, still in the road and just on the other side of the blind curve, and falls asleep. While your blood alcohol is .10, you are driving the speed limit (let's say 65) and within the lines. You come around the blind curve, rear-end his car, and he dies while drunk-sleeping. Accident reconstruction experts determine that no one - drunk, sober, professional NASCAR driver, whatever - could have responded in time to avoid hitting and killing the stopped driver. Voila! You are guilty of being a drunk driver but not at fault for the death of another driver!
November 2nd, 2021 at 4:10 PM ^
I work in auto insurance claims (username definitely does not check out) but I can tell you this happens more than you think, thought it isn't often. For example, I handled a claim not too long where one car merged across 4 lanes of traffic and didn't see a motorcycle in the far lane and splattered the guy. The police showed up and hauled away the motorcycle driver to jail (after he went to the hospital) since he was .12. However, multiple witnesses said the motorcycle driver was headed straight down the middle of the lane and driving the speed limit or close to it and did nothing wrong. Therefore, even though he broke a state law in terms of DUI that did not mean he was liable for what took place in the accident itself - it just means he got busted for the offense in a bizarre fashion.
November 2nd, 2021 at 5:17 PM ^
People shouldn't drive drunk at all, but there is driving drunk and there is driving DRUNK. I'm guessing everyone who drinks has driven over the legal limit at one point or another. However, I know people close to me who are alcoholics who have driven while black out drunk. You shouldn't do either, but one is a poor decision with slowed reflexes and the other is suicide/manslaughter.
November 2nd, 2021 at 6:19 PM ^
“Everyone who drinks has driven over the legal limit at one point or another.”
No.
November 2nd, 2021 at 6:36 PM ^
I have never in 37 years of driving since she of 21 have I ever drank and got behind the wheel. So no
November 2nd, 2021 at 10:29 PM ^
You sound drunk now.
November 2nd, 2021 at 4:39 PM ^
IIRC, in Stallworth’s case the victim hopped a fence dressed in black (or dark clothes anyway), and crossed a freeway in the dark. The judge decided that even a sober person wouldn’t have been able to avoid him/react in time. So while he clearly broke the law by driving under the influence (Stallworth wasn’t super drunk iirc), being drunk didn’t result in the guy’s death.
November 2nd, 2021 at 3:03 PM ^
I completely forgot about Stallworth. I had to go back and research that case. He faced up to 15 years in jail, but was only sentenced to 30 days - of which, he only spent 24 days behind bars.
Wow. Just wow.
November 2nd, 2021 at 3:13 PM ^
He paid the family of the victim a ton of cash in return for them asking the DA to go light on him.
BS move by a rich person? Sure. But his money will help the family far more than him being in jail would have, and he prevented them from needing to go through a difficult civil case to get money out of him.
I guess I put myself in their shoes--would I want Stallworth in jail forever or would I want his restitution? Personally I'd take the cash just like they did.
November 2nd, 2021 at 3:18 PM ^
I don't think one should have to choose between getting paid off and justice. I, personally, would want both. And you can get both which is why we have civil courts. Mostly I would want justice and true repentance. I'm a big believer in second chances and improving one's self and the world after a terrible mistake. The problem is that second one takes a long time to demonstrate and achieve and families who have loved ones lost also have immediate concerns.
November 2nd, 2021 at 3:42 PM ^
I'm guessing he made it worth their while to just take the cash. Plus they didn't have to pay lawyers fees to get it.
Fair? Nope. Just reality.
November 2nd, 2021 at 4:02 PM ^
I am in no position to judge anyone who feels otherwise, but personally if I was in that position where I lost a family member or loved one to a drunk driver, no amount of money they could offer me would make me want anything less than the maximum sentence for them. If not for a feeling of justice, it would be for holding them accountable. This wasn’t some mistake they accidentally made. They chose to get drunk and get behind the wheel. They chose to endanger others.
I’d never want to feel like I sent a drunk driver the message that my loved one’s life had a price tag associated with it, and they were able to just walk away and consider everything a closed transaction. If I really want their money, I’m happy to go to civil court afterwards and settle money matters then. But if I took their money and then saw them out on the street two months later, I feel like I would regret it every day for the rest of my life. I’d be wondering if they ever really learned anything, or care about what they took for me.
If you or anyone else feels differently, then that’s completely fine. Again I’m in no position to judge because I’ve never been there. I’m just going by how I assume that I would feel in that situation.
November 2nd, 2021 at 4:42 PM ^
As people have said, the death was not his fault, tho I'm sure he feels terrible. Killed by a drunk driver, not because of a drunk driver.
So that probably had a ton to do with the family's decision.
November 2nd, 2021 at 4:51 PM ^
In the Stallworth case, wasn't the guy killed running across the road in a non-crosswalk?
So yeah, if Stallworth had been sober, maybe he stops in time. But it isn't like he just plowed into a guy standing on the sidewalk.
November 2nd, 2021 at 6:02 PM ^
That’s fair. In that situation I might feel differently. I think I was more coming from a place of if my loved one was killed because of a drunk driver.
November 2nd, 2021 at 3:45 PM ^
..."but it’s the NFL, and if you can help a team you’ll most likely find a home. "
Unless you protest against police brutality or for racial justice.
November 2nd, 2021 at 5:03 PM ^
or say mean things about the commissioner
November 2nd, 2021 at 4:49 PM ^
Unless you kneel during the national anthem
November 2nd, 2021 at 3:30 PM ^
It's America buddy. He has $ and talent that can help others make more $$$.
He'll get off with a light sentence.
November 2nd, 2021 at 4:57 PM ^
No. It happened in Nevada. He will do hard time.
November 2nd, 2021 at 5:48 PM ^
It's a class B felony in Nevada. He's looking at 20 years, which even if pled down, is going to keep him out of the league long past any athletic usefulness.
November 2nd, 2021 at 2:55 PM ^
Fuck that is tragic...
Most of all, I feel terrible for the innocent woman in the Toyota and her friends and family, but also feel bad for Ruggs and his friends and family...
just goes to show what a dumb idea it is to ever drink and drive.
Sad for everyone that have had their lives changed by that single decision...
November 2nd, 2021 at 3:21 PM ^
If reports are true, I don't feel bad for Ruggs. Sure we're all prone to dumb decisions and so we can empathize on some level with Ruggs (certainly feel bad for his family). But when you get drunk and get behind the wheel, you've actively chosen to endanger others on the road. At the end of the day, a bunch of innocent people were involuntarily murdered and the man who caused it is alive. And you don't deserve sympathy for that.
November 2nd, 2021 at 6:39 PM ^
Why oils you feel bad for Ruggs? He’s an adult, he knew the laws, Hebrew them and burned an innocent person alive as a result. I’m sure you mean it’s a shame because he’s young rich and good at football, but having sympathy for Somone after they do something like this is misguided. His actions were in this instance are some of the most selfish I can think of. I’m sure this isn’t his first time either.
November 2nd, 2021 at 8:46 PM ^
Because most people, including most posters here, have at some point driven while under the influence.
November 2nd, 2021 at 9:57 PM ^
Yeah and you’re phrasing leads one to think what happened was an “accident” which it wasn’t. It was a choice to ignore the safety of others and the potential of a tragedy happening. It was dumb and I do no one should feel bad for him.
November 3rd, 2021 at 1:06 PM ^
I have. And I feel really bad about it. But if I had killed someone as a result of it, I wouldn't deserve any sympathy either.
November 3rd, 2021 at 12:02 PM ^
fuck Ruggs
November 2nd, 2021 at 2:56 PM ^
10,000 people are killed annually by drunk driving.
Dante Stallworth got 30 days for killing a guy while drunk. So who knows what happens with Ruggs.
November 2nd, 2021 at 3:54 PM ^
I thought of that, but it's (thankfully) a different era. Previously, you could beat a woman and teams would shake it off as "boys being boys," but now that gets you suspended and out for multiple games (if not longer; Ray Rice never played again as no team would sign him).
Ruggs will be put on leave by the NFL and if convicted, he will be going to prison for at least 2 years...so he will obviously be cut from the team, and will very likely need to apply for re-instatement from the NFL if he wants to try to sign with a team once he is out.
I could *maybe* see a team signing him if he's done some real penitent work while in prison *and* the family of the victim chooses to publicly forgive him (obviously, that's up to them) *and* he's still in good physical shape *and* still younger than 30; but that's a ways down the road and not really important right now.
November 2nd, 2021 at 5:25 PM ^
As previous mentioned many times above, Dante Stallworth was not at fault for the death of the person he hit.
November 2nd, 2021 at 2:57 PM ^
Lives forever changed by a dumb, careless decision
so sad
November 2nd, 2021 at 2:58 PM ^
My son is a high school senior. He lost a very good friend to a senseless DUI rear-end accident about a month ago (the driver's BAC was 3X threshold level when taken at the hospital), so I'm particularly sensitive to this issue right now.
Henry Ruggs made a horribly bad decision that could have been prevented with a simple phone call. Pay someone sober to take you home. There's no excuse.
November 2nd, 2021 at 3:05 PM ^
My mom lost her dad to a drunk driver when she was really young. She never got the chance really remember him as she was so young. I don't know all the circumstances around the accident but the guy responsible was never found/charged to my knowledge. With technology these days there is no excuse for it. Plan ahead and find a driver. Uber or Lyft. Hell if you're a millionaire just hire a damn driver.
November 2nd, 2021 at 3:01 PM ^
Tragic all around. Tragic for the person who is dead. Tragic for Ruggs who will pay heavily for a terrible decision and may lose his football career. He's been charged with a category B felony with a mandatory sentence of 2 to 20 years if convicted.
Avoiding driving drunk is so easy these days. You can get an Uber or Lyft driver to take you anywhere. It just isn't worth it.
I'm not one of the people that think all drunk drivers are terrible people. I think most are just normal people that have a blind spot for their abilities after drinking a few. Please please please just get someone else to drive.
November 2nd, 2021 at 3:03 PM ^
Let's hope Ruggs pays accordingly. Donte Stallworth (As another poster illuded to) proves the two tier justice system is alive and well
November 2nd, 2021 at 3:02 PM ^
Get an Uber you rich, dumb fuck.