LAS VEGAS — One of the first people to respond to Tuesday morning's fiery car crash involving Las Vegas Raiders' wide receiver Henry Ruggs III says he did everything he could to help.
Tony Rodriguez was one of the first witnesses to arrive at the scene after police say Ruggs' Corvette plowed into 23-year-old Tina Tintor's car at a speed of around 156 mph, killing her.
"I thought for sure we were going to be able to do something. The fire was so small at the time," Rodriguez said. "It just grew fast. Really fast. There was one person with a fire extinguisher, a county worker. That didn't work. It wasn't enough. It was just so fast."
Rodriguez said that Tintor was still alive when he arrived on the scene.
"She was actually still alive. You could hear her breathing. She had her seat belt on, and I was trying to cut that away," Rodriguez said. "(I was) trying to grab them by their shoulders and pull them out, but that wasn't working. They were pinned. The seat belt was on, the airbags were in the way, and the door was jammed."
As the fire in the car spread, minutes began to seem like hours for Rodriguez.
"It had to be more than 10 minutes. It felt like a lifetime," he said.
Unfortunately, Rodriguez's efforts couldn't save Tintor. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
It wasn't until after the accident that Rodriguez noticed he still had Tintor's blood on his hands.
He says the incident was burned into his memory forever. He added that he isn't sure if he'll ever be able to attend Raiders games or events at their stadium in the future.
"My son wanted to go to the stadium to watch the football game, and I was going to go to a concert, and I don't think I'm going to go," Rodriguez said. "I haven't slept since the accident. It's horrific. It's sad that somebody could be going that fast and cause that accident like that."
Rodriguez offered a message of condolences to Tintor's family.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I tried everything I could — my friend, as well. I'm sorry."
Tintor's dog also died in the crash.
Ruggs made his first court appearance on Wednesday and faces charges of DUI causing death and reckless driving charges.
This story was originally published by Bree Guy on Scripps station KTNV in Las Vegas.
