Nick Hogan Crash News Unveils Car Settlement

By: Kara Gilmour
02/19/2010 07:01 PM ET

Nick Hogan, whose real name is Nicholas Bollea, has agreed to settle a civil suit with the family of John Graziano. In 2007, Graziano was riding n Hogan’s Toyota Supra at the time of the accident. He lost a portion of his brain and is confined to a wheelchair.

“We reached a settlement that was agreeable to all parties,” the victim’s family attorney, Kim Kohn, said in a statement. “We are very happy because our goal all along was to ensure that John was provided with the appropriate care for the rest of his life. And the settlement will do that%u2026The mom is very relieved and that makes us very happy. The court approved it this morning.”

Hogan, 19, is the son of wrestler Hulk Hogan. He pleaded no contest to felony reckless driving involving great bodily injury last year. He was sentenced to eight months in jail but only served five.

Soon after his release, the Graziano family filed their civil suit. Exact terms of the settlement are confidential. Linda Hogan settled up with the Grazianos last month.

Hulk Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, was there for the nine hours it took to negotiation the settlement. Talks began last Wednesday night when attorneys from both sides met for a trial exhibit exchange. During that time, the Bollea family said they wished to settle.

Graziano’s condition has improved somewhat. He was released from a Florida hospital in September. Nick Hogan has regretted the accident ever since, but does talk to kids about the dangers of reckless driving and speeding.

Bollea’s Driving Record and Past Vehicle Accidents

In 2006, in Bay Harbor Islands, Florida, Bollea was driving a yellow 2001 Lamborghini Diablo VT owned by Cecile Barker when it caught on fire. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue spokesman Paul Perry said, “It was a normal car fire. It happens a bunch of times every day and nobody notices.”

On September 17, 2006, Nick Bollea was stopped twice driving between Miami and Tampa. He was warned the first time and ticketed the second for going 115 mph in a 70 mph zone. In an August 2007 interview with magazine Rides, Bollea said he was driving 123 mph in a 50 mph zone but his mother said the interview was exaggerated.

On February 8, 2007, he was ticketed in Miami-Dade County, Florida for driving 57 mph in a 30 mph zone, and on April 25, 2007, he was ticketed and received four points on his license for driving 106 mph in a 70 mph zone in Osceola County. On August 10, 2007, he was ticketed in Pinellas Park after being clocked going 82 mph in a 45 mph construction zone.

On August 26, 2007, Bollea was involved in a serious accident in Clearwater, Florida. Bollea and three members of the pit crew for his drifting team were traveling to a steakhouse when the single-vehicle crash occurred. The car fishtailed and spun across the road before crashing into the median strip and into a palm tree.

Bollea and his passenger, 22-year-old John Graziano, were flown to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, Florida. Bollea was released from care on August 27. Graziano, a U.S. Marine and a member of Bollea’s pit crew, was not wearing a seatbelt. The eye and brain injuries he sustained are expected to leave him in a nursing home for the rest of his life.