Steve Parker Motoring / The Car Nut: PUTS BEST FRIEND INTO COMA IN ILLEGAL STREET RACE, HULK HOGAN'S KID GETS JUST EIGHT MONTHS

Yes, the American "justice system" just keeps truckin' along. How much justice do you want? How much can you afford? Apparently, Hulk Hogan was able to afford quite a bit of justice, at least for his 17-year old kid. And who can blame him? Hogan did what most fathers would do ... If they had the $$$ to spread around to make justice happen for their son.

Last August, Nick Bollea, wrestling star Hulk Hogan's son, crashed his father's modified yellow Toyota Supra into a palm tree while street racing. This past week, in Clearwater, Florida, a judge sentenced Nick (Hogan) Bollea to eight months in jail for reckless driving, five years of probation after jail and his driver's license was suspended until he turns 21 (about three years from now, and just in-time for him to drink AND drive on his birthday night). Not only that, Bollea had the balls to plead NOT GUILTY in open court. Like father, like son (when properly greased with the clear). (Photos, above and below --- The 1998 Toyota Supra driven by 17-year old Nick Hogan/Bollea at over 100 miles per hour, according to police. He lost control and hit a tree).

Not only did he total the car, but Bollea's best-friend, US Marine veteran John Graziano, riding shotgun with Bollea that night, now requires lifetime medical care for critical injuries received in the wreck; Graziano entered the hospital that night in a coma which doctors now say he will probably never recover from. Bollea was discharged the same night of the crash after being examined at a hospital.

The two families have sadly been fighting, and publicly so, since the crash. Graziano's shaken father spoke on his son's behalf at Bollea's sentencing, telling the court, "What Al Queda could not do to my son in Iraq, Nick Bollea did to him in Florida".

We've had more than we can stomach of Bollea ... There is simply no excuse which could possibly explain-away what happened in August, 2007. Those who have seen the "reality TV show" featuring the violent, loud, obnoxious and clearly juiced-up white trash Hogan/Bollea family must stand in wonderment at this judge's ruling ... Especially given that Bollea had been cited for speeding in Florida at least six previous times before this crash (including several tickets for going over 100 miles per hour on city streets; where we live, in the local traffic court, if guilt is found based on a citation for going 100 miles per hour or over, the judge has the bailiff take the defendant's license then and there).

Exactly what kind of legal sideshow are they running in Florida? Are the only people treated to a "taste of the law" in that state the white trash and other ne'er-do-well-types featured on COPS and other TV shows? (Photo --- Bollea/Hogan under arrest after the crash which put his best friend into a coma).

Bollea's criminal (in our minds) negligence, stupidity and lack of driving skills are all painfully obvious. In other postings on this site, you'll find video of Bollea's mother acting in a somewhat bizarre fashion, laughing hysterically and waving as Bollea performs a long, drawn-out burn-out in one of his Vipers in front of the paparazzi-heavy The Ivy restaurant on Robertson Boulevard in West Hollywood, CA. "That's my boy!" And watching Hulk Hogan in court this past week, telling the judge how, "We've tried to keep all the focus on John (Bollea's now-comatose friend) throughout all of this," and Bollea himself, in one of his less-convincing performances, talking about how, "I pray for John every day, every chance I get ..." was all too much to bear. The kid screwed-up and Hogan paid the freight and the family clearly got their money's worth; someone should definitely check into who this judge is ... This is justice for the Graziano family?

Believe it or not, we have sympathy for Bollea. He is just a kid, he has no understanding or wisdom about the real world; growing up surrounded by freaks for parents, syncophants for friends and enough money, and all it buys, to never need to work an honest day in his life, we lay much, if not most, of all this at the feet of his parents. Can anyone honestly say that this tragedy, based on what we know about the Hogan/Bollea family, comes as any surprise?

Click below for more of the latest on this judicial travesty in Florida concerning Bollea/Hogan.

(Photo --- Hulk Hogan flanked by Sylvester Stallone, left, and WWE founder Vince McMahon; all three have evaded tough questioning about their personal use of steroids, which are known to cause anger and force people to attempt stunts they normally wouldn't; are Hogan's son, Nick, and his friend, John Graziano, now lying in a coma, victims of these and possibly other drugs and/or alcohol as well?).

If you or I were driving a car in an illegal street race on a crowded public highway, hitting speeds in excess of 100 mph during the early-evening "event," then hit a tree, totaled the car and put our best friend into a lifelong coma ... what do you think would happen to us? Significant jail time? Huge fine? Community service which really means something? Asking forgiveness? Attendance at all sorts of safe driving clinics, possibly at anger-management programs, maybe even at drug and/or alcohol diversion programs to "catch" someone before they've begun to do drugs or drink, appearances on talk shows to explain the very real dangers of street racing, creation of a website dedicated to safe and sane driving ... All this and more, most of us would probably agree, would seem reasonable and acceptable punishments for such horrendous actions. (Photo --- Hulk Hogan's wife, Linda, has been caught on video laughing hysterically and waving at the paparazzi as her 17-year old son Nick does burn-outs on crowded public streets; her aggressiveness, sometimes bizarre affect and extra-loud, extra-large personality has been cited by some as proof Ms. Hogan has also used steroids).

John Graziano, Bollea's (now ex-) best friend, was the only passenger in Bollea's car when the crash occurred. Graziano, a US Marine veteran of the Iraq War, had returned home from Iraq just a few months before the wreck. Doctors say he will probably never leave his hospital bed, never speak again, never have any enjoyment or even knowledge of life as we know it. His lifespan will also probably be shortened, typical in traumatic head injury cases like these, though no one can determine to what extent.

Bollea's car was a 1998 rear-wheel drive Toyota Supra, heavily-modified for "drifting," a sport which consists of drivers muscling cars around corners "sideways," trying to put on a smoking and screeching show for the fans who appreciate this unique form of motorsport which was originally developed in the 1980s in Japan. (Photo --- Nick Hogan/Bollea police mug shot).

Bollea had gotten recognition in drifting competitions sanctioned by NOPI (Number One Parts Incorporated), an automotive performance parts manufacturer and drifting event promotion firm with a specialty in the "import/tuner car" market. His sponsors in the sport through the past few years had included Dodge (Bollea, or his dad, Hogan, had once owned two highly-modified Dodge Vipers for use in drifting) and also Polaroid, Mac Tools, BF Goodrich and Sparco. Reportedly Bollea has lost all those sponsors since the crash. Good.

Now that the court case has been "settled," especially to the Bollea family's satisfaction, NOPI should immediately and very publicly pull, for life, the competition license issued to Bollea by the group, for flagrant flaunting of the most basic aspects of safe operation of a car on a public roadway (whether or not Bollea can race in drifting events while he is not allowed, by the state of Florida, to hold a valid license is not known).

We hope Bollea does his time, encourages his family to make a fair settlement with the Grazianos, so we're all spared the spectacle of a court battle (and there will undoubtedly be a civil suit) and he sort-of fades away into his own productive life, putting to use any number of important lessons he learns along the way. Raise some good, sensible kids in a realistic, authentic lifestyle. But why do we think none of that will happen?

(Photo --- Interior of the Toyota Supra crashed after 17-year old Nick Hogan/Bollea lost control of the car at speeds estimated by witnesses and police at over 100 miles per hour and ran into a tree).