- Guy Fieri was falsely accused of drunk driving at 19, according to his recent interview.
- While he was a passenger, the accident resulted in a fatality.
- Fieri woke up in the hospital, handcuffed to a gurney, and faced legal consequences in the aftermath.
Guy Fieri recently shared a life-changing experience that shifted his perspective.
During an episode of the “Now What? with Brooke Shields” podcast, Fieri revealed that he was wrongly accused of causing a fatal drunk-driving accident when he was studying hospitality management at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Fieri clarified, stating, “I wasn’t driving, I was in the backseat. And, unfortunately, I was with a bunch of guys and…we were drinking.”
According to Fieri, the group had been watching drag boat races and were on their way to a nearby campsite when the driver, who was also intoxicated, spotted a police officer.
“He took off and we got chased and the car flipped,” Fieri recalled. “And the guy next to me was killed. It was horrific. Everybody was messed up.”
Fieri was airlifted to a nearby hospital and woke up to find himself restrained to a gurney. The other occupants of the car, who were military members, falsely accused Fieri of being the driver. Subsequently, Fieri was arrested in his dorm room and had to inform his parents and hire legal representation.
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Fieri revealed that although the police acknowledged he wasn’t the driver and dropped the charges, his father sternly advised him to change his ways.
According to Fieri, his father relayed, “You’re not invincible. This is real now. You’re not in your hometown anymore. You’re in Las Vegas. You have to focus.”
Representatives for Fieri, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department have not responded to Insider’s request for comment.
The accident served as a transformative moment for the Food Network star
Reflecting on the incident, Fieri shared, “I realized that I didn’t come from a wealthy family. I wasn’t the brightest student. My grades weren’t the best. But I knew that if I wanted to succeed, it had to be through hard work, discipline, and determination. That gave me a better chance at overcoming this adversity.”
Fieri also imparted this lesson to his two sons, Hunter and Ryder.
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Fieri emphasized, “These are the things I constantly teach my children. Don’t trust anyone else to drive you. Don’t trust drinks prepared by others. Don’t believe claims of safety or intelligence without verifying them. You must take control of your surroundings and be the master of your own domain.”
In a previous interview, Fieri revealed that he made his son Ryder drive the family’s used Chrysler minivan for a year without any incidents or traffic violations before allowing him to purchase his own car. Fieri wanted to instill self-sufficiency in his son.
“I’m not buying Ryder a car,” Fieri stated. “He must prove that he can handle responsibility and then use his own savings to buy a car.”
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