He was just another regular kid with an ’80s icon dad and a hit reality show, when one stupid thrill-seeking move left his ass in jail, his family in ruins, and his best friend comatose.
On August 26, 2007, Nick Hogan – a trained Formula D driver, and son of wrestler Hulk – lost control of what he called his “pussy magnet” (a Toyota Supra) and slammed into a median strip while drag-racing with friends. He and his pal John Graziano, who was in the passenger seat, were taken to the hospital for treatment. Hogan walked out of there the next day. Graziano, however, sustained serious trauma to his brain that will keep him hospitalized for the rest of his life.
Nick blamed the crash on wet roads, but somehow he was still charged with reckless driving involving serious bodily injury, and cited for felonious use of a motor vehicle, underage driving, drunk driving, and “an illegal window tint.” While his family publicly rallied around him, they were very visibly falling apart. In November, a few weeks after Nick turned himself into the police, his mother Linda filed for divorce from Hulk, her husband of 24 years. By the time Nick headed to court in May 2008, his parents were locking antlers over money and dating younger, blonder versions of each other.
Nick pleaded no contest and was sentenced to eight months in jail, which haven’t been fun for him; recorded phone calls reveal that Son of Hulk finds prison life compares unfavorably to kicking it at home in his Florida mansion. He has also been heard bitching about his victim, accusing John of being a “negative person.” (The Graziano family is currently suing the Hogans, demanding they pay for the lifetime of medical care that John is facing.)
