It was 2007 when Nick Bollea’s car was involved in a horrific street-racing crash that caused permanent brain and spinal injuries to his friend John Graziano. The son of Hulk Hogan has been in the middle of a very public battle between the two families since the crash left Graziano wheelchair bound.
Graziano, 25 at the time, was a front-seat passenger in Nick’s Toyota Supra when the car crashed into a palm tree in Clearwater, Florida. John, who was not wearing a seat belt, suffered a severe brain injury and remained hospitalized for two years. He was released from a Florida hospital in September 2009.
Lawyer George Tragos held a press conference yesterday to announce that his clients, the Graziano family, had reached a settlement in the civil suit. He did not disclose the terms but he did say, “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…The mom is very relieved and that makes us very happy. The court approved it this morning.”
Nick, 19 at the time, plead no contest to reckless driving involving great bodily injury and was sentenced to eight months in jail but was released after five months behind bars – view crash photos here.
Check out car crash video below: