Victim Of Henry Ruggs Crash Was Alive During Fire, Eyewitnesses Heard Her Screams From Car

As if a senseless and avoidable crash that killed a 23-year-old and her dog wasn’t tragic enough, the details are slowly starting to be released and they’re horrific.

Tina Tintor was in her Toyota Rav4 when she was rear ended by Raiders WR Henry Ruggs at 127 mph, pinning her and her golden retriever in her car. A blaze that engulfed her car burned both of them alive. According to eyewitness statement’s, Tina’s screams could be heard from her car as Ruggs sat with his passenger on the street.

The Sun

A bystander, Alexander Hart, was nearby standing as a security guard at a condominium and rushed to help, according to the police report.

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When he arrived, he heard screams coming from the Toyota.

Tina was still alive, he told the police but he couldn’t pull her out, because she was pinned inside the SUV.

The Toyota “was soon overcome with smoke and heat from flames,” and Hart had to back away, according to the report.

Tina’s family members also attended the court appearance and Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said he met them for the first time.

“They’re torn apart,” he said. “This was a terrible, terrible collision, so they’re mourning their loss. They’re grieving. They’re mad.”

KTNV News has the account of another bystander who tried to free Tintor.

KTNV News

Tony Rodriguez was one of the first witnesses to respond.

“I thought for sure we were going to be able to do something. The fire was so small at the time,” said Rodriguez. “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.”

She was still breathing.

“Everything we tried just wasn’t working. The fire just grew so fast,” he said. “She was actually still alive. You could hear her breathing. She had her seat belt on and I was trying to cut that away. 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.”

A ticking time bomb. Minutes seemed like hours.

“It had to be more than 10 minutes. It felt like a lifetime.”

Rodriguez had this to say to the family: “I’m sorry. I tried everything I could. My friend as well. I’m sorry.”

Forever burned into his memory.

Tina’s dog, who was in the back seat, also died.