By: Florida DUI Accident Lawyer David B. Datny, Esq
The son of WWE legend Hulk Hogan was arrested for driving under the influence (“DUI”) on November 16, 2023 in Clearwater, Florida, 16 years after he was involved in a horrifying car wreck while racing his vehicle in the same Florida city.
According to jail records, Nick Hogan (real name: Nicholas Bollea) was taken into custody on misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence shortly before 4 a.m. Saturday and declined to take a sobriety test. He was released later that Saturday on a $500 bond. The exact details of the incident remain unclear. On the Friday night before the arrest, Nick was seen on his Instagram page attending a bikini contest at his dad’s restaurant/bar in the Clearwater area.
Sixteen years earlier, Nick Hogan had been involved in a horrific car crash in the same city. At the time of the accident, 17-year-old Nick Hogan was drag racing a friend when his car veered off the road and struck a tree. The accident caused severe brain injury to Nick’s friend, John Graziano, who was an active duty Marine at the time and a passenger in Nick’s car. The accident left Graziano permanently disabled and requiring round-the-clock care for the rest of his life. Graziano’s family subsequently sued the Hogans over the accident.
While Hogan was not charged with driving under the influence, cops contended that alcohol was involved and accused Hulk Hogan of supplying his underage son with booze. Hogan pleaded no contest to a charge of reckless driving involving serious bodily injury and served eight months in Pinellas County Jail. Nick Hogan was additionally sentenced to five years’ probation and 500 community service hours and his driver’s license was suspended for three years. He was released from jail for good behavior after serving around six months of his sentence. Prior to the 2007 crash, Nick had received numerous speeding tickets in the state of Florida.
Hulk Hogan regarded the 2007 accident as a wake-up call to his son, who he felt did a 180-degree turnaround from his life. In 2010, Nick appeared on the “Good Morning America” show to discuss the accident and the devastating effect it had on him, leaving him at times unable to get out of bed in the morning, thinking of the harm he had caused his close friend.
Sadly, alcohol-related crashes have caused numerous injuries and deaths on our highways in Florida and other states. In 2019, alcohol related fatalities from drunk driving accidents amounted to 378. In 2023, drunk driving car accidents with fatalities increased slightly to 384. The small increase may have been due to reduced driving from COVID closures. The number of deaths from drunk driving accidents nevertheless continued to increase in 2021 to 407. In 2022, this number increased to 428 wrongful deaths from alcohol induced car crashes.
As you can see, the drunk driving fatality numbers have risen steadily over the last few years which is infuriating because these are totally preventable accidents. Unfortunately, during the holiday season from Thanksgiving to Christmas to New Years, Florida drunk driving accidents are even more likely to happen. During this time, please do not drink and get behind the wheel of a car. In this day and age, there are so many options available for drivers who have consumed alcohol to avoid getting behind the wheel of a car including Uber, Lyft, Taxis and/or public transportation. Take advantage of one of these services instead of risking serious injury from a drunk driving accident to you or another person.
If you or a loved one are injured by a drunk driver, The Datny Law Firm and Car Accident Lawyer David B. Datny are here to help. We are available at 561-221-7474 any time even at night, over the weekend and during the holiday season when many other offices are closed. Consultations are FREE and we proudly represent clients injured in drunk driving and other car accidents throughout Florida including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Wellington, Winter Park, Orlando, etc.