CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) – Nick Hogan, the son of wrestling legend Hulk Hogan, was arrested in Clearwater on a drunken driving charge, according to police.
At approximately 1:18 a.m. Saturday, officers conducting a stop at Bay Street to Bay Boulevard spotted a Dodge Ram approaching them in a separate lane, an arrest affidavit said.
One officer used his flashlight to signal to Nick Hogan, whose legal name is Nicholas Bollea, that he should change lanes and slow down, but police say he did neither.
Another officer detected the vehicle was speeding at 51 mph in a 40 mph zone on his vehicle’s radar, the Clearwater Police Department said.
When Bollea was stopped for a moving rule violation, officers said he showed signs of impairment, saying he was swaying and unsteady, had a “strong odor of an alcoholic beverage,” and had glassy, bloodshot eyes.
According to police, he refused to take a breathalyzer test but failed field sobriety tests.
Bollea previously made headlines in the late 2000s when, at the age of 17, he was involved in a serious accident that left him and his friend John Graziano in Bayfront Hospital on August 26, 2007. That accident also occurred in Clearwater.
In accordance with the Sam & Ash Injury LawBollea pleaded no contest to a reckless driving charge in May 2008, receiving a sentence of eight months in county jail and five years of probation.
Graziano’s family also filed a lawsuit against Bollea and Hulk Hogan over the victim’s injuries, which left him paralyzed and in need of nursing care for the rest of his life. The law firm said the lawsuit ended with a $1.5 million settlement.
. “Professional creator. Lifelong thinker. Reader. Beer buff. Troublemaker. Evil problem solver.”