14 DAY TRIAL // In the summer of 2007, Nick Hogan, the son of wrestler and television personality Hulk Hogan, crashed his car so badly the other passenger in it was left with severe brain damage, incapacitating him for life.
A little over three years later and a short stint in jail for it, Nick is finally opening up about the crash, telling ABC’s Good Morning America that it happened because he was very “stupid.”
As some of you may remember, Nick was severely criticized in the media because of the crash, since it nearly killed his friend, leaving him in such a state that he will require 24-hour assistance for life.
Moreover, shortly after it occurred, Nick’s parents tried to downplay his part of the responsibility (he was drag racing when it happened) by saying John Graziano should have worn his seatbelt.
All that is in the past now and Nick finally understands how big of a fool he was then to engage in drag racing, E! Online says. To cap it all off, he was also under the influence when he did so.
“It was being young and, honestly, just stupid, not mature. Absolutely reckless,” the 20-year-old son of Hulk Hogan says for GMA.
After the crash, both victims were airlifted to the hospital but, while Nick walked out on his own feet shortly after, Graziano will never walk again – or have much of a life for that matter.
“I remember finding out how bad everything was. It’s still hard for me to think about it,” Nick says, tears welling up in his eyes, when asked about how he reacted to news of his friend’s condition.
“It’s hard to move on every day and be positive when there’s something that’s so horribly devastating. There’s days when I can’t even get out of bed,” he goes on to say.
He prays every day for John, “my brother,” as he calls him, hoping some kind of improvement will eventually happen.
Nick also claims he has tried to stay in contact with John and his family and to show his support for them in these trying times, a claim the Grazianos flat-out deny.
“Nick has done nothing to show his remorse. We haven’t heard a word from him,” the family says in a statement to GMA.