If you read Michele’s blog on March 25, 2008, you know that Hulk Hogan’s son Nick was the driver in a car crash that happened on August 27, 2007. The crash occurred in Clearwater, Florida when Nick’s Supra fishtailed and crashed into a median strip then a palm tree. The police believe that Nick was doing in excess of 60 mph in a zone that was marked 40 mph. In the car that night was Nick’s best friend, 22-year-old John Graziano, who had gotten out of the Marine Corps in 2007 after two tours in Iraq. He was not wearing a seat belt and suffered eye and brain injuries that have left him in a permanent vegetative state.
Seventeen-year-old Nick had received four tickets within the first year of receiving his driver’s license. Among the tickets was one in which he was caught driving 115 mph in a 70 mph zone. He was also ticketed for going 57 mph in a 30 mph zone, for driving 106 mph in a 70 mph zone, and for going 82 mph in a 45 mph construction zone.
Nick was sentenced yesterday to eight months in a Florida county jail. He will also have to perform 500 hours of community service, cannot drink alcohol, and may have his driver’s license revoked for three years. He pleaded no contest to charges of felony reckless driving. To the Graziano family, a somber looking Nick said, “I will never ever be able to say I’m sorry enough.” After the judgment was read, Nick was led away without being able to say goodbye to his family in the courtroom, which included Hulk Hogan.
The judge said he hoped that Nick would use his community service in a positive way, as his friend John had while serving as a Marine. Once Nick turns 18, he will no longer have the felony conviction on his record. The judge said, “I think there is an understanding of what happened, and there is a sense of acceptance of responsibility. There is nothing that the court can impose that is close to what John has dealt with or will have to deal with as he moves forward.”