Nick Bollea Asks To Go Home, John Graziano Can't Go Home: A Case In Perspective - Page 3
“[Nick’s] going to be okay. John’s going to be okay, and if things keep going the way they’re going…Nick and I are going to walk John right out of that hospital,†he said.
I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea...at least, I hope you do.
Many people have taken me to task, saying that I am being too rough on Nick. After all, John Graziano was an adult, and he should have known to put on his seat belt. I totally agree with that. I'm not trying to paint John as some sort of angel, strong-armed into the car against his will. He and Nick and their buddies were known to be fast and reckless drivers. But we don't know under what circumstances John didn't have his belt on, or IF he didn't have it on. Perhaps he had it on at the start of the drive and took it off for some reason. Maybe he dropped something and took it off to pick it up, and it was at that moment the accident happened. Maybe he just didn't put it on because he didn't want to. Maybe he did have it on and Nick is lying. The thing is...it is the DRIVER'S RESPONSIBILITY to make sure all passengers are properly secured before starting to drive. Nick should have insisted on John's wearing his belt, if he wasn't already wearing it...but maybe Nick was too drunk to notice anything.
EDITED TO ADD:Â According to the police report, John was not wearing his seat belt, as evidenced by an EMT.
People have also said John shouldn't have gotten into the car with an underage driver who had been drinking (alcohol was found in his system after the crash). Again, true. Perhaps John didn't know Nick had been drinking, or maybe he knew but thought Nick could handle it. Not the best judgement on John's part, but hardly a reason to excuse Nick's behavior. The bottom line is that we don't know for sure, because Nick hasn't said and John can't.
So while John made bad decisions that fateful day, ultimately it was Nick who caused the accident. It was Nick who drove recklessly. It was Nick who drank underage and then got behind the wheel. It was Nick who didn't make sure his passenger was belted up. It was Nick who MADE THE DECISION to do all these things. Absolutely nothing John Graziano did or did not do excuses Nick's behavior before, during, and after the crash. Had Nick been traveling the speed limit, chances are both people would have walked away...chances are there wouldn't have been an accident at all. What was John supposed to do...grab the wheel at 100+ MPH? Jump out of a speeding car? Hit the imaginary brake?
Continued on the next page
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