The sordid saga surrounding Nick Hogan's high-speed crash that resulted in critical injuries to his shot-gun mate and best friend continues. TMZ.com reports that Clearwater, FL police arrested the son of pro-wrestler legend Hulk Hogan today and charged him with reckless driving, as well as issued citations for the use of a motor vehicle in a felony, operating a motor vehicle under the age of 21 with a blood alcohol level above .02, and, our favorite one – illegal window tinting. Being the celebrity news hounds they are, TMZ has continued to follow the story and published a statement made by Nick Hogan's rep in which the Hogan's actually call out John Graziano, the best-friend who was critically injured in the crash, for not wearing his seat belt. Wow. In light of Mr. Graziano's apparent disregard for his own safety (as if driving in a car with Nick Hogan wasn't enough evidence of that), the Hogan clan, a.k.a. the Bollea family, plans to increase public awareness about wearing your seatbelt. We expect the senior Hogan to grab the mic and hit the top rope to order all his little Hulkamaniacs out there to say their prayers, take their vitamins and always, ALWAYS wear their seatbelts.
[Source: TMZ.com, booking photo from TMZ.com]
James Garner recovering from mild stroke
VIDEO: God's ringtone is a V10-powered Audi R8
IIHS releases official results on the smart fortwo
Tragedy at LeMons: Send love and a little bit more
Officially Official: New Ferrari California exposed!
In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang
Future Classic: 1984 Chrysler Minivans
Autoline on Autoblog with John McElroy
First Drive: 2009 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen
Project Track Slut, Part One: Pick a weapon on the cheap
_thumbnail.jpg "Lamborghini Reventon unboxed in Las Vegas")
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Lucas @ Nov 7th 2007 1:00PM
Turns out the Supra is a "prison pu55y" magnet too.
Seminole @ Nov 7th 2007 1:00PM
This just shows how much class the Hogan's have.
Nick's lack of judgment and his antics put someone in the hospital. Instead of taking responsibility, they blame it on the poor kid. Hey Hulk, maybe if your son wasn't driving a 600+hp car while drunk and street racing, his friend wouldn't be in the hospital.
Maestro1 @ Nov 7th 2007 1:07PM
HAHA good one!
Stupid lawyer, how could it be an 'accident' when he caused it by drinking and driving. Idiots! All of them!
Pete @ Nov 7th 2007 1:08PM
Bottom line, if the passenger wasn't wearing his seatbelt and this could have made a difference in the out come of the accident then hell yes I would bring that up.
I fcuking hate people that don't wear their seatbelt!
naggs @ Nov 7th 2007 1:39PM
its the drivers responsability to make sure everyone is wearing their seatbelt. have you ever had someone who was too cool to wear a seatbelt? just tell them you not moving the car till they put it on because the ticket for not seatbelt goes to the driver.
but seriously, idiots
Maestro1 @ Nov 7th 2007 1:09PM
Whoops! That was meant for Lucas. Nvm.
Pete @ Nov 7th 2007 1:11PM
As for the alcohol...
.02 please...
Let's not make this about drunk driving, because that really isn't 'drunk'
This is about a rich 16 year old kid that has zero experience and shouldn't be behind the wheel of a car like this.
The passenger should take responsibility for his own stupidity.
Justin @ Nov 7th 2007 1:34PM
ditto
Chizzle @ Nov 7th 2007 2:02PM
Dude, it said OVER .02...and probably because that's all they could nail him on by the time they ran the test. But the point is it's not-a-drop for under-agers.
And as for the seat-belt, I have no problem letting passengers ride unbuckled BECAUSE I DON"T SHOW OFF MY DRIFTING SKILLZ ON BIZZY STREETZ!!!
Daniel @ Nov 7th 2007 6:26PM
.02 might just be saying that it's above the legal limit (underage or not)
Passengers in my car don't need to worry about me saying anything if they don't put their seatbelt on...the obnoxious beeping every 5 seconds gets the job done.
Justin @ Nov 7th 2007 1:19PM
Good. That's what I like to see.
TungstonT @ Nov 7th 2007 1:23PM
Which came first the Reality Show or the Freaks?
k.w.a @ Nov 7th 2007 1:35PM
haha maybe now we'll actually have a REASON to watch their reality show.
I definitely would have let it be known that he wasn't wearing a seatbelt, too... that would be the only chance i'd have to save my own a$$. However, they should have let their lawyer handle that, instead of making it the Hogan's official statement.
The huge underlying problem is celebrities not taking responsibility for their actions and expecting to be above the law, and i'm sure the judge won't hesititate to use their blame-placing statements against them.
Hopefully with this arrest, Nick will take the cop's advice that he has the "right to be silent" lol
naggs @ Nov 7th 2007 1:36PM
so he put his friend in the hospital for life and learned nothing...someone (parents) needs to take the keys away until this kid grows up. if they do not it seems very likly that he will kill himself
Victor @ Nov 7th 2007 1:54PM
The amount of power in a car should dicate the driver, something like this.
(Total WHP)/10 < (Driver Age)+ (Driving Years) - (Attfault Accidents Cost)/10 - (# Speeding Tickets)
Or something like that.
Farris @ Nov 7th 2007 2:40PM
Nice! That would be able to put me in a car with
Farris @ Nov 7th 2007 2:43PM
Okay... apparently I can't put in the "less than" sign without destroying the rest of my comment....
That should read:
Nice! That would put me in a car with "less than" 220 whp! (19 yo, 3 years driving, no tickets, no accidents (knock on wood)) Mmmmmm.... 219 hp....
But seriously, that is a really good idea. There should be some way of suggesting cars for children based on power.
Aki @ Nov 7th 2007 1:55PM
Although it's a bad PR move to call Graziano out in the crash , you gotta admit not wearing the belt is extremely careless.
An inexperienced, young driver racing his tricked out Supra--and you're riding without a seatbelt? How is that even possible?
Jerk Face @ Nov 7th 2007 2:13PM
Supra... so... nice....
What a waste.
Vexorg @ Nov 7th 2007 2:17PM
Of course, the illegal tint is the one they're going to throw the book at him for...