Mom of victim in Hogan crash speaks out

Debra Graziano (foreground) and her son Michael talk about John Graziano. [Bill Serne | Times]

Debra Graziano doesn't want to disrespect her son's privacy. This is what she'll say about his condition: He suffered a severe head injury. Please continue to pray.

John J. Graziano, 22, a U.S. Marine who has survived going to war, is in critical condition at Bayfront Medical Center after a car accident in Clearwater last week. The crash has received national attention because the driver, Nick Bollea, 17, has a famous father, wrestler Hulk Hogan.

Graziano, 22, is a 2003 graduate of Dunedin High School. He and Bollea are longtime friends who met through their shared love of auto racing.

Graziano was a passenger in Bollea's yellow Toyota Supra on the night of Aug. 26. The pair was headed east on Court Street near downtown Clearwater about 7:30 p.m. when Bollea lost control and hit a tree.

Witnesses said they saw the Supra racing against a silver Dodge Viper driven by Danny Jacobs, a friend of both Bollea and Graziano.

In the days after the crash, Clearwater police spokesman Wayne Shelor said excessive speed was a factor and that police interviewed the driver of a silver Dodge Viper at the scene. On Thursday, he said no charges have been filed and no new information would be released about the ongoing investigation.

Debra Graziano said she doesn't know what happened that night. She hasn't asked.

"That's irrelevant to me right now," she said in an interview outside the hospital Thursday. (Click here to see video footage of the interview.)

What's relevant is John. A man who doesn't use extra words, who loves chicken parmesean and beer with lime. He sleeps with two miniature dachshunds, Rose and Porsche, and his two cats, Chloe and Zoe.

For more, read Friday's St. Petersburg Times.