WCW's Van Hammer Charged With DUI in Florida After Hitting Child

Mark Hildreth, better known for his run in WCW as Van Hammer, was charged with driving under the [...]

By Connor Casey

Mark Hildreth, better known for his run in WCW as Van Hammer, was charged with driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an injury crash this week in Boynton Beach, Florida after reportedly hitting a five-year-old boy on a bicycle while driving drunk on Sunday. Police say Hildreth was driving 58 miles-per-hour in a 35 mph zone, and after making contact the child was thrown on top of the car's hood. The boy suffered possible internal injuries and "road rash" as a result of the accident, but injuries were determined to not be life-threatening.

A Palm Beach County judge set Hildreth's bail at $125,00 with an option for house arrest.

Hildreth made his wrestlng debut in 1991 after being trained by Dan Spivey and Boris Malenko. After competing in a tryout match with Marc Mero, Dusty Rhodes signed both men to contracts for WCW. His original run with the company only lasted until 1993, but after a pair of dark matches with the World Wrestling Federation he would re-sign with the company and stick around until his release in 2000. Fans will likely remember him best from his time in The Flock and the Misfits in Action stables.

In an interview with the Palm Beach Post in 2013, Hildreth said Rhodes originally envisioned him to be the next Hulk Hogan.

"Dusty introduced me to people by saying, 'This kid is the next Hulk Hogan.' Dusty's a good man, but he wasn't doing me any favors," he said, admitted that he didn't watch wrestling as a kid and never imagined he'd be doing it full time. "A lot of the guys were second- and third-generation wrestlers, and along I come Forrest Gumping my way into it."

One person who spoke very highly of Hammer during the interview with Diamond Dallas Page.

"Mark's gone through the roller coaster of life. He's been as high as you can get and then dropped off the face of the earth. I love the guy. We can go two years without seeing each other, and we pick up right where we left off."

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