It’s times like this I’m glad I grew up poor.  It was just a matter of time before somebody decided to hold the so-called parents of Nick Hogan Bollea Whatever accountable for both their actions and his.  The Grazianos, family of Nick’s passenger John Graziano, have officially sued the Hogans:

The suit, filed in Pinellas County Circuit Court, alleges that each of the defendants — Terry Bollea, a.k.a. Hulk Hogan, Linda Bollea, Nick Bollea and Daniel Jacobs [the other driver] – were negligent in the acts leading up to Graziano’s injury last summer.

The suit will seek damages in the millions, said attorney George Tragos, but the exact amount is not known because it remains unclear how expensive Graziano’s care will be. Tragos said the former Marine’s medical bills already exceed $1 million.

The crash left Graziano, an Iraq war veteran, in critical condition.

 

John Graziano remains in the hospital:

Lawyers today said that a portion of Graziano’s frontal lobe had to be removed because of the crash. He is in a “semi-conscious” state and responds to certain stimuli like heat and touch, lawyers said.

The proceeds from the suit would go into a trust for Graziano’s longterm care.

So much for Hulk Hogan’s words after the accident:

“[Nick’s] going to be okay. John’s going to be okay, and if things keep going the way they’re going…Nick and I are going to walk John right out of that hospital,” he said.

 The actions of the Grazianos are in stark contrast to what was said at the time, when they couldn’t have been more positive in their praise of the Hogans:

“My son John has been very close to the Bollea family for over six years,” [John's mother] wrote. “They are like extended family. Since day one of this nightmare, they have been with us physically, emotionally, mentally and financially.”

She added that Hulk, his wife, Linda, and Nick have been with the family at the hospital every day praying for John’s recovery and offering food and support.

“They came and faced our family and friends not knowing what response they would get,” said Graziano.

“Nick is experiencing every step in the process with us. His parents are holding him accountable as any good parent would,” she added. “He is a 17-year-old who is suffering watching his friend…you can imagine how he feels.”

I can understand her statements made then, in light of the fact that this was a very short time after the accident and undoubtedly she and her family were still in shock over the whole thing.  I’m glad they came to their senses about the selfish actions of the Hogans; however, I really have a hard time seeing Linda baking a mashed potato casserole for the Graziano family, and I really am not sure that these statements made by the Hulkster qualify as holding his son accountable:

“The most important thing to me was from all the eyewitnesses and everyone that was there and saw it was that they were not racing,” the former pro-wrestling superstar told The Insider. [...]

“It’s just so unfair,” added Hogan. “Just the way the media jumped on my son and just the way they portrayed him. From my gut, it’s something that has torn two families apart, and we’re just so close to John’s family. ” [...]

Citing the latter statement, Hogan reiterated that his son isn’t guilty of anything.  “I’m trying to tell my son to stay strong, because at the end of the day, when all the facts are in, it was an accident,” he said.

The suit states that the Hogan family shouldn’t have been such chuckleheads (a technical term meaning permissive idiots) regarding child-rearing, and they should have been paying more attention to Nick, his life, and specifically his actions on that fateful day.  If you recall, Hulk had gone out to a liquor store that day and purchased much alcohol for a party he was having on his boat for Nick and his friends:

The report says Bollea and his friends spent the day of the accident on a boat with Hogan. Bollea’s friends, who are all at least 21 years old, were drinking beer. No one reported seeing Bollea drinking alcohol, although it was found in his system after the crash.

Jeremy T. Whitson, who is in charge of security of Shepard’s Beach Resort, told police Bollea and about seven other people got off a boat and tried to enter the tiki bar between 5 and 6 p.m. the day of the accident. He said Hogan stayed on the boat. All the people who got off the boat were clutching beer bottles except Bollea, who held a plastic cup. They were not allowed entry, according to Whitson, because they didn’t have identification that showed they were 21 or older.

(It does need to be said that there was probably a short window of time when Nick left his home and was away from his father, that he could have drank and his father not known.)

Nick and his friends were known for their fast driving:

Included in the 130 pages of documents was an interview with Barrett Lawrance, a close friend of Bollea’s and the passenger in a silver Dodge Viper. Witnesses said the Viper was racing against the Toyota Supra driven by Bollea, son of celebrity wrestler Hulk Hogan.

Lawrance told police the Viper, driven by his friend Daniel Jacobs, was traveling around 100 mph at the time of the accident. The speed limit on Court Street where the car crashed is 40 mph.

Asked if Jacobs and Bollea were driving recklessly, Lawrance said: “This is how they always drive.”

And not only did Terry and Linda know of their son’s driving habits, they were okay with it:

Both the Supra and the Viper [driven by Daniel Jacobs] were owned by Terry Bollea and the first three counts of the suit are directed at him, claiming he is liable as the owner of the two car[s], as a parent who signed a driver’s license application for a minor child, who legally assumed responsibility for the minor’s driving, as someone who knew the propensity of his son and Daniel Jacobs to race and drive recklessly.

The suit goes on to say that Linda Bollea knew of her son’s reckless driving and even encouraged his dangerous behavior.

Mom Linda even did some racing of her own:

The 2005 documentary is titled “Vehicular Lunatics”. It was filmed at several Florida locations, including Saint Petersburg and Orlando. One “Extra” on the DVD is called “Street Racing With Linda Hogan”.

At one point, Linda Bollea (Hogan) is seen alongside another car. Linda Bollea is driving a car identified as a Mercedes S600. Her daughter, Brooke is her passenger. Brooke says to the men in the adjacent car, “Wanna race?” One of the men replies, “Yeah! We love racing you! On three.” Brooke replies, “Let’s do this. Alright.” Then Linda Bollea says “Let’s kick it.” [...]

At one point in the documentary, his mother was asked how she feels about street racing.

Her answer: “Oh, I love it. I love it. The rush, the speed on the road, stereo blasting, heart-pounding, racing in between all the cars, dodging the cops. It’s awesome.”

ABC Action News Investigative Reporter Matthew Schwartz interviewed the family in their home hours before Nick’s arrest two weeks ago, and Linda Bollea denied making that remark when Matthew asked if she said it on the tape.

Mrs. Bollea says, “I never said that. I never would have said that.”

Let’s not forget that it was Nick’s so-called mother who said that.  His mother, who was supposed to be teaching her son right from wrong, good from bad, and to follow the laws of the land.

And finally, let’s revisit Nick’s own words, where he mentioned what a hit his car was with the ladies, and how much he loved to jerk the cops around:

Wow, these must break necks when riding down Ocean Drive.
The yellow Supra and yellow Viper are pussy magnets for sure. I mean, the green and the silver appeal more to men, ’cause a guy knows what he’s looking at and will drool over it. But girls see the yellow, and panties start dropping off.

Jeez, talk about a flashy color. Anyway, most 16-year-olds haven’t had enough practice yet to become a pro drifter.
[Laughs] Let’s just say I have a terrible driving record.

Uh-oh. Looks like someone has a story to tell.
In my silver Viper, I was driving from Miami to Tampa. I got pulled over going 107 [mph] and the guy let me off. He’s like, “Hey, I know who you are, just keep going, ya know.” Dude, I got back on the road and two minutes later I get pulled over going 113 [mph]. Another highway patrol from the same county said, “I just heard on the radio that my buddy pulled you over and let you go. I’ma let you go this time. It’s your second warning. You get pulled over again, you’re probably going to go to jail.” Three minutes later, [I was] doing 123 [mph] in a 50 [mph zone]. The guy is like, “Hey, I just heard you got pulled over twice in the last 10 minutes. I got to write you a ticket.”

 

Now, the argument could be made, and has been made, that John Graziano was at fault because he didn’t put on his seat belt when he got in the car, as evidenced by this statement given to TMZ by Nick’s PR rep:

“Nick and the entire Hogan Bollea family are saddened that criminal charges have been filed in regards to the tragic single car accident on August 26, 2007.

Nick will meet and answer these charges in the appropriate arena ­ a court of law. The family’s primary focus and concern still remains for the continued recovery of Nick’s longtime friend John Graziano. The Bolleas will also continue to stand by the Graziano family and help them in any way they can.

The tragedy to both families is compounded by the fact that unfortunately John was not wearing his seatbelt. Thankfully, Nick was wearing his.

Because of what happened to John, the entire Bollea family will make it a priority to increase public awareness about the importance of always wearing your seatbelt. There has been much speculation as to the speed and wet road conditions surrounding this accident. Although all the evidence has not been evaluated, preliminary reports from the experts indicate that this was not, in fact, a high-speed accident. Because Nick is still a juvenile and has no prior criminal record, we are disappointed that he is being charged as an adult offender. However, we are confident that the evidence will demonstrate that this was an accident.

We ask all who follow these events to keep an open mind as to the facts until they have been ultimately determined. Finally, we thank all who have prayed for John’s recovery and ask for your continued support and prayers.”

However, it takes gigantic brass ones to blame John for not putting on his seatbelt when he got into a car with an underage speed fanatic with alcohol in his system who thought he was above the law and who flaunted his panty-dropping car every chance he got.  Yes, John liked fast cars too, and he probably shouldn’t have even gotten into the Supra, but he wasn’t the one driving…Nick was.  So, ultimately, the responsibility lies with Nick to drive in a responsible manner, which he clearly did not do.

The truth is that while John should have put his seat belt on, and therefore does share a small part of the blame in his injuries (after all, there are seat belt laws in Florida), the fact of the matter is that Nick was seventeen, under the influence of alcohol, drag racing on a city street, and speeding in excess of 100 MPH in a 40 MPH zone in blatant disregard for the safety of pedestrians and other drivers.  And yes, nobody actually saw the Hulkster give his son a beer (nobody that is speaking up, that is), but the fact is that alcohol was found in Nick’s system after the crash, so he had to have gotten it somewhere.

And yes…while it is true that accidents can happen even to the best of drivers, while it is true you can be involved in an accident and not even be in a car, while it is true that a car can crash into a store and people be hurt who weren’t even driving, the odds are much, much higher that you will be in a terrible accident if you add together all the risk factors listed before.

Plus, if you also figure in the fact that Nick had alcohol in his system, and that his own father had purchased alcohol that day  (not seen purchasing soft drinks or water) and Nick was seen drinking out of a plastic cup while everyone else had beer…it all seems very suspicious and like the Hogans have something to hide.

Why do I keep on cutting and pasting the same articles, why do I keep following the sordid Hogan saga, why do I bother?  Because no matter how much money they throw at this, no matter how they try to spin this case, the bottom line is that God gives us a great responsibility in our children, and if we fail them then we have failed at the most important job there is.  Because actions have consequences, and until children are old enough to really grasp that it is our job as parents to make sure we do all we can to stop them from making horrible decisions that could lead to something like this.  Because I have not seen even one iota of true remorse or accountability out of any of the Hogans for this horrific incident, just excuses and whining about how poor Nick has been portrayed.  Because while being friends with our children is not a bad thing, we are not meant only to be their buddies, but ultimately their parents.

Because I am the Hogan’s Anonymous.  I do not forget.