John Graziano is still in critical condition, but reports are surfacing of witness accounts of what happened that night prior to the crash that landed Graziano in the hospital. Witnesses are saying that Nick Bollea (wrestler Hulk Hogan’s son) was racing against a silver, Dodge Viper in the moments before he lost control and crashed into a palm tree.
Frances Vitalis was on the way home when she saw the two cars racing in the street. She said the two cars were speeding through traffic lights and it was obvious that they were racing. She told the St. Petersburg Times, that she knew something was going to happen, “You know this is a bad situation and these guys are hotdogging.” It probably didn’t help that the roads were slick. Vitalis said that she watched as one car would speed away and the next would catch up.
The games ended that night when the Supra fishtailed out and crashed into a tree. Vitalis said that she tried to get into Graziano’s door, but the car was so mangled that she could not get it open. The SP Times is reporting that a 2006 silver Dodge Viper coupe is registered to Terry (Hulk Hogan) Bollea, but it is unclear if this was the same car that was racing the Supra that night. Additionally, witnesses were unable to determine who was driving the other car.
Currently, the 22 year old, ex-Marine, John Graziano is still listed in critical condition. Nick Bollea has been treated and released. The Clearwater police are saying that there was no evidence that Bollea was racing. Witnesses do not agree, but despite that no charges have been filed.
Another witness Rabih Cheaib, 20, was sitting with three friends when he saw the race between the two cars pass him by. Cheaib, who builds race cars for fun, said he thought the cars were moving faster than 60 mph in a 40 mph zone. Of course, Cheaib admits he was not shocked by the speeds as he is a former racer himself.
He told the newspaper that he didn’t think, “Oh those crazy kids.” Instead, since he is involved in the racing scene, he thought that, “it was pretty sweet.” Cheaib and his group ended up heading to the crash site after they heard of the accident. Cheaib’s best friend is John’s brother, Mike. He mentioned that John war quiet, but that he loved adrenaline sports like skydiving and surfing. In addition to Mike, John has a sister and another brother. He has been friends with the Bollea family for years.
John served two tours of duty in Iraq and recently returned home in October. According to reports, Graziano served in Fallujah and Ramadi while in Iraq. When he got out of the service, rather than taking a regular job, he enlisted with the local reserve unit to ensure that he was still involved in the Marines and serving his country.
A prayer vigil for Graziano is being held this evening. Cards and care package can be sent to Bayfront Medical Center under the Graziano name for anyone interested in sending their respects in this way.
[tags]John Graziano, Hulk Hogan, Terry Bollea, Nick Bollea, Street Racing, Bayfront Medical Center, Silver Dodge Viper, Toyota Supra[/tags]
21 comments ↓
This story gives me flashbacks - I did the same and more from about 15 years old - fortunately no one got killed or hurt !
I followed Hogan’s career from day 1 - inc.the reality show and it appeared that he is a hell of a good Dad that looks out for his kids , but I have to add you can’t be holding their hand 24/7 , and you have to trust their judgement - hope that you taught them well.
Nick is ultimately at fault here - no one else - regardless if he had a fast car or not. I used to race with my mothers Volkswagon - it could go 100 mph !
I hate to , but feel I must add that John IS 5 years older and has had a lot more life experience. He should have stepped in and gotten Nick to BACK OFF - SLOW DOWN.
This is a very sad situation that I’m sure Nick will never forget - its a HELL of A WAY TO GROW-UP !
He may look like a man - but he’s still a kid !
I feel sorry not only for John - but for ALL involved , and sincerely hope for the best outcome to this tragedy .
A note to Terry - If by some chance the state doesn’t take Nick’s license away - GET HIS ASS OFF THE ROAD UNTIL HE GROWS UP - FOR EVERYONES SAKE !!!!!!!!!!!
Jackie
Winnipeg, Canada
To Terry again - Did you know about the speeding tickets - the video of him in the Viper cutting of a vehicle and smoking the tires just before an intersection and running the traffic light ???
I think you and the family are great - but maybe he’s not ready for these cars - trained to race or not - the street is another story !!
Jackie
Winnipeg, Canada
Jackie, I agree with you except for for thing…..IT IS his parents fault, as well as his, because he is under-age, and he already, before this, had FOUR MAJOR SPEEDING TICKETS AND A SUSPENDED LICENSE!!! Terry should have yanked his license long before this. It should have been obvious to Terry and Linda a long ime ago that he couldn’t be trusted to drive safely, so (even though I know and love them) I really can’t understand all this sympathy from so many people! They are celebrities—SO WHAT? That does not make them any less liable! If it were you or me, no one would be feeling so bad for us, I assure you. I am really sick and tired of all this hero worship. It doesn’t serve anyone, least of all Nick.
plain and simple if this kid did not have rich parents he would have lost his driving privldges until he was twenty one. what is on television is not real life, they know when the camera is on and only play goody goody
for tv WAKE UP PEOPLE the witness will never testify they will be compansated.
And yes Jackie, of course Terry and Linda both knew.
To the former friend..I am so glad that somebody finally gets it. I have been following this and reading all the comments and I am appalled that so many people don’t get it. Nick Bollea has obviously been out of control for a very long time and he has gotten away with more than any kid should. It is a darn shame that the Bolleas have a reality show….it has done nothing to help either of their kids become mature adults, especially Nick. As for all the hero worship, I agree with you 100%. It is so silly that people are feeling so sorry for Nick and his family when there is a young man in a hospital in critical condition with a family not knowing what will happen to their loved family member. The Bolleas certainly knew what Nick’s driving record was and still they let him drive. My heart goes out to Susann, God bless her. I can only imagine what they are going through. Former friend, thank you for trying to put some real reality to the so many people out there that just don’t get it. The Bolleas created a monster when they let Nick drive and continue to let him drive after so many tickets. It is sad but it is something that could have been prevented if the Bolleas really had parented Nick the right way by being his parents and not his pals. Thank you again.
I agree with a lot of what Jackie is saying. I am a mother of four. There is ONLY so much you can do as a parent. You have to let your kids grow up. As hard as it is to sit back at times and watch them make mistakes and fall. I feel for everyone in this situation. I feel for John and his family. I feel for Nick and his family. I think the media and public are really being unfair to the Hogan family. Terry “Hulk” seems and has always seemed to be a very protective father and is always involved in his childrens life. Linda seems to be a very loving, giving, caring mother. I see them as normal as possible in the lime light that they are in. I think they honestly give one hundred percent to there children and never ever thinking Nick was going to go out and wreck a car with his good friend. Hogan knows pretty much what his family is up to all the time. I know my kids can tell stories and I know my kids can play it cool when needed. Were all human. We all go through so many things in our teens. “TEEN”. Nick is still a “TEEN”.
I think people need to stop bashing the Hogan family and start praying for everyone.
My thoughts and prayers are with John and his family and the entire Hogan family.
To Kristi…the Bollea family chose to put themselves in front of the world and portray themselves as the all- American wonderful family. I feel for them to a certain extent and being a parent is the hardest job there is but as protective as you feel Terry is and as loving as you feel Linda is, where is the love and protection when they are allowing their son to continue to drive in a wreckless manner? We go through things as teens but it is a parents job, whether we like it or not to put limits on our kids and if they overstep the limits, there is a price to pay. The very fact that Nick drives in a manner that endangers himself and anybody else over and over again and he has parents that continue to allow him access to a vehicle says alot. I am fed up that programming shows this awful reality show stuff. There is no reality to what they are exposing the world to….the reality showed it self when Nick Bollea lost control of a excessively speeding car and slammed into a tree. That was the reality. Now a 22 year old man is in the hospital and the world worries over Nick and his parents, who let this happen by letting their irresponsible and immature son keep on driving after all his tickets and totalled cars. And he has the gall to ask when can I drive again. Sorry I cannot feel too sorry for the Bollea family, which you all keep calling the Hogans. Bollea is their name, Hogan is Terry’s stage name. Nick is 17, at 18 you are no longer a minor. His parents have not prepared him for the real world as I see it. In the real world there are consequences for your actions, even as a child you are taught that. Yes I am a strict parent and I am thankful that I had strict parents. Not one of us had speeding tickets or totalled out cars….and there are 5 of us. Believe me, my parents weren’t my pal or bro. How can you honestly believe that Terry or Linda didn’t think this wreck could possibly happen? They knew about the tickets..they saw how he drove. Think about it.
kristi, they knew Nick’s driving record!! That is the point. Not whether or not kids make mistakes. They do, but this was one after the other after the other after the other! And at the point when you know that your kid does not have respect for the law (which Nick obviously doesn’t) you as a parent are responsible and OBLIGATED to step in and say “NO MORE”! Why didn’t they do that? I don’t know, but I do know that even though Terry and Linda are involved, and despite the t.v. show’s depiction of their family, Terry I think forgets that Nick is only 17, and not 35, and he wants to be Nick’s buddy instead of his father! And so this is the result…and it’s a tragic one. They had to know that if Nick kept on driving on public streets and highways at the speeds he was going, that this would happen sooner or later. And if they didn’t know it, it was because they didn’t want to.
You’re welcome Rosie, and I’m glad you get it too! By the way, I’ve never even seen this site before, and the only reason I found it was because I couldn’t get ahold of anyone in the family in all their caos, and I was trying to get an update on Nick and his friend. And the only reason I started writing about this is that I couldn’t believe that so many people were just blindly sympathetic to Nick, and not even wanting to think that “Hulk”’s son would be responsible for something like this. I’m very worried about him (and especially his friend) but I want his ultimate best and that does NOT mean letting him get away with this! He needs to recognize what he’s done and change, or else he’s going to hurt or kill someone else or himself and I don’t want that!
And also fred, one witness was a cop, and he has already spoken about what he saw, and another lady also has said she saw the whole thing and what she saw. So I think it will be hard for the Bollea’s attorneys to pay them off—at least I hope they can’t. And the fact that Nick has so many sitations in one year isn’t going to play well for him either.
To fmfrnd, I applaud you for telling the truth concerning this whole tragedy and it is a tragedy. I think too many people are so wrapped up in Hogan Knows Best and see it as a true representation of their daily life. It is all for the camera. And I find it all so very sad that the Bollea off spring have no real guidance and preparation for the real world. I am not rying to bash Linda and terry simply because they are palying the celebrity card to the max on the tube. Frankly I could care less how they make a buck. What does irritate me is the fact that their son has continued to endanger himself and every other person on the road and seems to not get it that driving is not a right but a privilege. His friend in the hospital and he has the gall to ask “when can I drive again”? I find Terry and Linda much in need of some serious parenting classes if they ever hope to make things right with their son. I don’t want him ripped because he is the son of Hulk Hogan…he is the son of Terry and Linda Bollea and they as his parents have the job of straightening his butt out and fast. I too hope that the justice system does their job and that the Bolleas don’t buy his way out of this. What would be the good of it for Nick? Just one more time that this folks get him off? Re-enforce the already mind set that he is so privileged and no matter what ,mom and dad will bail me out and I can go on my merry self destructive way? God I hope not. He is young but not as young as so many people are making him out to be. If anything he is extremely immature for his age and needs to grow up. The Bolleas took on a job when they had two kids and the job is not to be a friend or bro to your kids. That is a reality….all of it is so sad and I hope that John and his family manage to hold on. The outcome no matter how it turns out will affect them for always. All the money in the world will not heal the agony of John’s pain and the agony his family has to endure due to the stupidity of Nick. And yes, you are so very right….Nick needs to realize what he has done and make some serious changes. And that also goes for his parents..hard as it may be for them, they need to accept the truth that their son has absolutely no business behind the wheel of any vehicle. Maturity wise he has a very long way to go and for folks to continue to say he is only a kid, we were all kids once etc. does no good whatsoever. Too many off spring of celebrites are not standing up and taking what they should when it comes to the law. I still say, don’t make him a poster child for the law….make him pay the consequences for his flagrant law breaking and for damn near killing another human being with his wreckless atitude while driving. Do the crime..do the time.
Again I’ll say it Rosie…you have hit the nail on the head, EXACTLY! Thank goodness, a mother who makes sense!
Any parent knows that once their kids start driving they are going to try and be “cool” with their friends in the car, but when a parent deliberately puts their son/daughter in a vehicle that is way too powerful, you might as well sign their death certificate and someone else’s while you are at it…I have to say Nick is responsible for his actions, but his parents are ultimately responsible for not guiding him even if it meant taking the keys and car away after his speeding tickets. When you take your son or daughter down to the DMV you sign an affidavit that you feel your child is responsible enough to drive, you also have the DUTY to determine if they aren’t, and take it upon yourself to have his license taken away and car, it isn’t the cops who are supposed to be babysitting these irresponsible kids in their hot rods…they wouldn’t have them if Mommy and Daddy didn’t sign the papers so guess what, Mommy and Daddy are going to pay the price as well as their son. What a horrible thing to live with knowing your best friend is brain damaged or dead all because of your stupidity and lack of concern for the well being of others.
Right on Karen. This is all one huge tragedy that could have been prevented by simply taking away the privileges of having a car and being allowed to use it. Yes Nick is responsible for his actions but it will be his parents who will pay for it. It is all so sad. It looks like the Bolleas are being very low key at this point and I am sure their legal team has advised them to be this way for now while they try to fix this. But in the end there is no fixing this…all the money in the world will not fix things for the Graziano family, whether their son makes it or not. I was shocked to see that VH-1 chose to run the “reality” show last night. Here they showed the “Hogans” off to Wyoming on vaction, not a care in the world. It kind of made me sick. Yes, what a horrible thing to have to live with, knowing you are the one who put your friend in such an awful condition. A friend of mine from the late 1970’s is living that nightmare. When she was in her 20’s she got behind the wheel of her car and was driving way too fast and hit a parked semi when she lost control of her car. She ended up with a broken shoulder….unfortunately her 4 year old daughter was in the passenger side front seat which took all the impact. After 3 days on life support her life ended. To live with that has got to be horrible. Now Nick has something he will have to live with because of his stupidity and immaturity…and Terry and Linda will have to live with this because they as his parents didn’t step up to the palte and tell him you are not going to drive, you are losing your license, car and the privilege of having a license and car. It is so sad because none of this needed to happen.
PHD’S say Guy’s who use cars to impress woman feel sexually inadequate. That does fit the young Hogan. Whats sad is all this has come from his own mouth. The kid does not realize how stupid he sounds and looks. Whats even worse is his father is the same. They define there manhood with material items because they feel inferior to other men. They have no confidence in themselves and feel to be as good as other men they need to have more material items. People would argue that Hogan has money but if you ever watch him when he has his wife around other men he gets very uptight. He was at a WWE event with his wife and he almost had a cow any time someone said hello to her. The guy is a P%##y of the worst kind. He also kept crying when his wife wanted to leave him. He could not understand why she was not happy when they had money. He does not understand that he does not stimulate her intellect and she is really not to sharp. Bottom line heis a loser like father like son.
People are not happy with the clearwater police. They feel the police have done nothing to insure the safety of the people in the community. After such a tragic accident people feel that the younger Hogan should not be on the road creating a dangerouse atmosphere and placing there children in danger. If clearwater had wrote the tickets the Hogan boy had coming and arrested him a judge would have detemined if he belonged on the street not the police. As it stands nothing has been done and it looks like the police are not going to do anything to pursue charges. This has angered most residents. They feel there has been preferential treatment given to the Hogan’s reguarding this matter and the safety of there children has been ignored.
You know, I agree this could have been avoided if the responsible ( so they think) parents would have taken the car away after the 1st couple of tickets. If my son breaks the rules, he pays the price. I just saw an accident tonight in my town, a car of teens were racing teens next to them on a motorcyles. The car lost control hit the side of the road flipped on it’s top then slammed into a pine tree upside down. This car wasn’t so lucky, the passenger was killed on impact, but 2 of the people in the car - one being the driver were hurt but not life threatning. That driver will live with this forever. The bad thing is a motorcyclist in his early 20’s came up to my and my friend close to the crash site and was bragging about the car and the motorcycle racing. He even said he knew the person killed an referenced a friend of his killed last week on a motorcylce, just so happens my son’s girlfriend was friends with that person. I said to this guy who was bragging about getting to the final desination by speeding, so seeing this, will this slow people like you down? He said no this doesn’t bother him, remember he knows the person who was killed in this wreck. Unbelievable, no respect for their friends or anybody around them. Parents need to get these cars away from their kids if they can’t be responsible with them.
I cannot believe all of this crap. I love the Hogans too but love does not mean that you get away with what the law says. All the love for the hogans int he world did not prevent this kid from speeding out of control into that tree. The latest news is that the Graziano kid had a heart attack and that his kidneys and liver are no better. Read the updates people. I cannot belive Nick says he was not wearing his seatbelt, like as if that would have stopped Nick from speeding like an idiot. If this is what kids do then why not just take all the cops off the roads and let kids do what kids do. THAT IS NO EXCUSE. There are rules for everyone to abide by. If the roads were slick then you adjust your SPEED. It does not look like he only BANGED HIS LITTLE HEAD as Nick says, Nick is not the one that was put into an induced COMA, and i repeat COMA. He is out walking around. Friend or not he was also no in Iraq fighting to help keep the people of the world safe. Instead Nick was and has been speeding around like a moron in a car daddiio should have long taken away. End of story. I hope for Nicks sake John comes out of it but it is not as simple as JUST WAKING UP for petes sake. Minimizing his injuries minimizes the guilt and just because daddio and mommsy have $$$$$$$$$$$$$ DOES not mean no consequences. We all have to have them to learn.
Clearwater Police say there is no evidence. Guess they have not seen the supra yet and choose not to listen to eye witnessess. Kinda like the cops who let Nick off after speeding over 115mph. Kind of like the oblivious parents who give a 17 yr old 700 HP to drive around town. I was 17 once had 300 HP can’t imagine why I’m alive I was nuts. Nothing has changed except the ability to buy more HP. This was predictable, a life has been spent and it was avoidable with just a little common sense
Rosie gets it, Kristi is out to lunch
I see that ms graziano has requested the hospital not release any more reports on john’s condition, why, i dont understand that, it is not a secret. Everyone wants to know how he is doing??????? What is she hiding now???????????? Does anyone have any updates other than the fact they wanted to put him in a nursing home. I heard she does not want to pull the plug becuase she does not want the hogans to have nick charged with vehicular manslaughter ect. Does anyone know???
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