Former WWE CEO Vince McMahon Escapes the Slammer After Car Slam
Former WWE CEO Vince McMahon is steering clear of a courtroom showdown after a Connecticut judge granted him entry into a pretrial diversion program on Thursday, allowing him to resolve reckless driving charges stemming from a July crash.
Under the ruling from state Superior Court, McMahon will have the charges dismissed in one year if he meets specific conditions — including a $1,000 charitable contribution and proof of proper licensing and insurance whenever he drives. The 79-year-old wrestling mogul had been charged with reckless driving and following too closely after allegedly causing a multi-car collision on the Merritt Parkway in Westport on July 24.
According to state police, McMahon was driving northbound in his Bentley when he rear-ended a BMW, sending his luxury car into a wooden guardrail. Debris from the wreck reportedly flew into the southbound lanes, striking another vehicle. Fortunately, no one was injured, and the other drivers involved did not oppose McMahon’s application for the program.
McMahon remained silent during the brief court hearing, but his attorney, Mark Sherman, told reporters afterward, “Not every car accident is a crime. That’s what happened here — an accident.”
The incident marks another headline in a turbulent few years for McMahon. He stepped down as WWE’s CEO in 2022 following internal investigations into sexual misconduct allegations and later resigned as executive chairman of TKO Group Holdings, WWE’s parent company, amid a separate sexual abuse lawsuit that remains pending.
McMahon, who famously bought what was then the World Wrestling Federation in 1982, transformed professional wrestling into a global entertainment powerhouse — blurring the lines between business mogul and in-ring showman.
