Former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs has received his parole decision five years after his fatal drunk driving crash.
Nevada’s Board of Parole Commissioners denied Ruggs parole on Thursday following a May hearing, via Stephanie Overton of 8NewsNow. He will be able to go before the parole board again next year, three months before his Aug. 24, 2027, mandatory parole release date.
Ruggs is currently serving a 3- to 10-year sentence for his role in a Nov. 2, 2021 crash that killed a woman and her dog. Ruggs drove up to 156 MPH and had a blood-alcohol level of 0.16, which is twice the legal limit. He was sentenced in August 2023 and has been incarcerated since then, and had hoped to be paroled after expressing remorse for what happened.
The Raiders drafted Ruggs with the No. 12 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, but released him immediately midway through 2021 when details of the fatal crash came to light. He is still just 27, and one of his ex-teammates suggested that he might actually try to make an NFL comeback if and when he is released from prison.
Ruggs caught 50 passes for 921 yards and four touchdowns during his brief two-year NFL career.
