During a court hearing, defense attorney David Chesnoff told Justice of the Peace Joe Bonaventure that his client had a clean record. “What we have, your honor, is a young man who has never been in trouble before,” he told the judge. “From what we understand, never a traffic violation.”
But court records show that the Nevada Highway Patrol issued Ruggs two traffic citations on April 29, for using a cellphone while driving a black 2021 Ford Mustang, and driving with an Alabama-issued license for more than a year.
He paid a $428 fine, according to the records. A Las Vegas police report from Tuesday’s crash states that Ruggs had a state of Alabama driver’s license.
According to the report, Ruggs was driving his 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray before he veered into the right northbound lane of Rainbow Boulevard before slamming into Tintor’s Toyota RAV4.
The impact pushed the Toyota, which burst into flames, more than 570 feet before it came to a rest near the intersection of Spring Valley Parkway, the report states. His girlfriend was also was taken to the hospital.