Archive for May, 2008

Brooke Hogan in Car Accident

May 27

Posted by Staff in Celebrity Car Accidents / News

Jovie Baclayon Tue May 27, 5:46 AM ET

Los Angeles (E! Online) - Wanna popstar Brooke Hogan learned an important lesson from her younger brother’s August 2007 car accident: Buckle up.

The 20-year-old daughter of wrestler Hulk Hogan was coasting with a friend Sunday afternoon on Florida’s Bayside Bridge when the driver of a 1997 Toyota lost control, hit her 2008 Mercedes head-on and pushed it into a concrete wall. Everyone involved was wearing a seatbelt and no injuries were reported.

According to the police report, a witness said the other driver was speeding.

Brooke’s accident happened just 17 days after her 17-year-old brother, Nick Hogan, was sentenced to eight months behind bars for an accident that left his best friend permanently brain damaged. The younger Hogan was racing his vehicle before losing control of it and hitting a tree. His passenger, John Graziano, 22, was not buckled in at the time.

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Britney filmed in second car crash

May 15

Posted by Staff in Celebrity Car Accidents / News

Troubled Britney Spears has been involved in another fender-bender - with another instant online video, it has been reported. Paparazzi had cameras rolling when the pop star’s white Mercedes-Benz coupe rear-ended a red Ford Explorer on Tuesday in Beverly Hills.

The video, posted on TMZ.com, shows ponytailed Spears in the driver’s seat. Wearing aviator sunglasses, she covers her mouth with her hand after realising she hit the car in front of her.

No-one was injured and police were not involved. Photos and video do not reveal any visible damage to either car.The 26-year-old’s bodyguard, who was in the passenger seat, gave Spears’ information to the female driver of the sport utility vehicle, People.com and TMZ reported. Spears was involved in a separate car accident on April 12. No one was injured or prosecuted.

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Bollea gets 8-month jail sentence

May 11

Posted by Staff in Celebrity Car Accidents / News

Source: Tampa Bay News 9

PINELLAS COUNTY (Bay News 9) – Nick Bollea, also known as Nick Hogan, was sentenced on Friday to eight months in jail on the charge of felony reckless driving involving serious bodily injury. On August 26, 2007 Bollea was driving a Toyota Supra with his friend John Graziano when he crashed into a palm tree in Clearwater.

Graziano suffered severe brain injuries. Doctors had to remove part of Graziano’s brain. His attorneys say Graziano still remains semi-conscious in the hospital and will need care for the rest of his life. John Graziano’s father, Ed, recommended a year of jail time. His mother, Debbie, wanted at least six months.

Bollea’s father, Terry, also known as Hulk Hogan, spoke on behalf of his son. “I understand how devastating this unfortunate situation has been to the whole Graziano family,” Terry Bollea said. “What many people really don’t understand, although it really pales in comparison, to the heartache the Grazianos have felt, our family has been devastated and pretty much torn apart by this situation also.”

Terry Bollea said media has unfairly attacked his son because of his on-air personality. The Bollea family has starred in a reality show called “Hogan Knows Best.” A lot of stuff that has been spoken to you as fact is not true,” Bollea told the judge. Nick Bollea also spoke to the judge on his own behalf. “I feel terrible about it,” he said. “I would like to apologize to the Grazianos and also to my family.” “I’ll never, ever be able to tell John ’sorry’ enough times to make up for what happened on Aug. 26,” he said. “I loved John to death. He was like my older brother and my best friend.” “I’m ready to take my punishment,” Bollea told the judge.

Nick Bollea spoke on his own behalf before the judge sentenced him.Bollea’s attorney, Sandy Weinberg, said that as a first offender and a minor Bollea should not be adjudicated a felon. Weinberg also said that Bollea understood the seriousness of the charges against him.

“Nick has shown remorse and accepted responsibility,” he said. “Nick has demonstrated that he is deeply affected by the accident and is remorseful.” Judge Philip Federico withheld adjudication on the felony charge, meaning Bollea was not formally found guilty and could possibly have his record cleared at a later date. The judge said he disagreed with the characterization of the incident as an accident. “That accident could have been avoided,” he said. “I would characterize it as a series of conscious choices.” Bollea’s attorney said Nick was happy with the sentence. “He wanted it over,” said Nick Bollea’s attorney Kevin Hayslett. “This was out of respect for his friend John. He wanted resolution and as he was leaving into the jail he said ‘please tell everybody I’m happy with the sentence.’”

Bollea’s other punishments

  • Five years probation
  • 500 hours of community service, with credit for hours he’s already done
  • No alcohol during the term of his probation
  • Driver’s license suspension for three years
  • DUI school and advanced defensive driving school
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DMX Arrested for speeding

May 9

Posted by Staff in Celebrity Car Accidents / News

Source: TMZ.com

Cops say DMX was driving so damn fast on an Arizona highway, it took more than three months to catch up with the guy. Scottsdale police finally arrested the rapper at his home yesterday after they claim he broke 100 MPH at three separate checkpoints back in January.

According to police, stationary cameras first snapped DMX in triple digits around 8:24 PM . One minute later he was spotted again — this time doing 114. Three minutes later he was clocked doing 101 … and he did all that in a yellow 1966 Chevy Nova II.

DMX, real name Earl Simmons, faces charges of racing on a highway, reckless driving, two counts of endangerment, three counts of criminal speed and driving on a suspended license.

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California considers bill banning pets from drivers’ laps

May 9

Posted by Staff in Auto - Car Information

Source: Sacramento Bee

No more dogs behind the steering wheel.

Canines don’t have to be back-seat drivers, but they’d better stay away from the gas pedal under legislation passed this week by the California State Assembly. Lambasted by radio’s Rush Limbaugh and ridiculed as the “Paris Hilton Bill” in honor of the celebrity dog lover, the measure now goes to the state Senate.

But Assemblyman Bill Maze said his bill could be a matter of life or death. “It’s a safety measure,” he told the Sacramento Bee. Current law requires animals to be secured in the back of a pickup, but allows them to roam freely inside a vehicle.

Supporters hailed the bill as common sense while opponents complained that government shouldn’t dictate who can sit in their lap: period. “I think we can probably spend the government’s money on more significant issues,” said Vickie Cleary, an Antelope resident and dog lover.

Bill Hemby, chairman of PetPAC, a pet owners group, said cuddling animals while driving can be distracting and cause accidents. “I think it’s a dangerous thing, especially if you have a small dog that falls on your feet and you can’t hit the gas pedal or the brake,” he said.

A Modesto driver was injured last month when she crashed into a power pole after she was scratched by a cat on her lap, according to press reports. Patrons of Partner Park, a Sacramento off-leash dog facility, had mixed reactions to Maze’s Assembly Bill 2233. Kent Kim, 58, suggested that government should keep its nose out of people’s laps.

“I think we have plenty of laws,” Kim said. “I think government should let people take responsibility for themselves.” Kim said he discourages his dog from hopping onto his lap in the car, but it has happened from time to time without incident. Gina Santana, 31, said the legislation could benefit pets and their owners. “If they get in a car accident, that dog would fly out the window,” she said.

Steve Archer, a Sacramento retiree, said he has mixed emotions about the bill. Government tends to over-regulate, but it’s hard to defend a driver’s right to cuddle lap dogs.”I don’t feel like the guy in the next lane is really paying attention if he’s got a dog in his lap leaning out the window,” Archer said. Marci Landgraf, 37, said passage of the bill might encourage manufacturers to create more comfortable devices to secure animals in vehicles.

“I love dogs, I love being close to them,” added Sandy Ettinger of Aptos. “But when I’m in a car, pushing 3,000 pounds of metal at 60 miles an hour, I also like to keep my fellow motorists alive.” On the Assembly floor, Maze argued that accidents caused by driving while cuddling a canine, or other animal, can raise insurance rates.

Statistics were not readily available on the number of accidents caused by drivers distracted by holding animals on their laps. Eight percent of drivers surveyed by Nationwide Mutual Insurance in 2006 said they had held a pet while behind the wheel.

Maze also pointed to a recent American Automobile Association study that found pets and loose objects were common distractions and significant traffic hazards.

Violators of the proposed law would not be penalized with higher insurance rates, but they could be slapped with base fines of $35 that could rise to about $150 through penalty assessments, Maze said. Assemblyman Dave Jones voted in favor of the legislation. “Anybody with common sense has to know that they shouldn’t be driving with an animal on their lap,” he said. “But if there are some people who think it’s acceptable, I suppose the bill will send a clear signal.”

The bill, AB 2233, had no formal opposition, but Assemblyman Martin Garrick criticized the measure as “overreaching.” “I would hope an individual would act responsibly,” he said. “But if the dog is a small animal and it happens to be on your lap, I don’t see that as a major distraction.”

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