Guy Fieri Recalls Being Falsely Accused of Drinking and Driving After a Fatal Car Accident: 'Horrific’

"The car flipped, and the guy next to me was killed," he said of the devastating incident that occurred when he was in college

Guy Fieri is opening up about a tragic, formative experience.

On Tuesday’s episode of Now What? with Brooke Shields, the Food Network star opened up about a devastating car accident he was in while attending the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

“I was in a fatality car accident when I was 19 when I was in college,” he said on the podcast. “I wasn't driving, I was in the backseat. And unfortunately, I was with a bunch of guys and…we were drinking.”

Fieri said that they were watching drag boat races in Las Vegas before the incident occurred.

“This guy saw a cop and he was drinking. We were camping a half a mile way. And he took off and we got chased and the car flipped. And the guy next to me was killed. It was horrific,” he told Shields. “Everybody was messed up. And I did go Flight for Life in the helicopter and the whole thing."

He said the men he was with were “all in the military together” and were staying at a neighboring campsite to him. After the accident, Fieri said he woke up in the hospital “handcuffed to the gurney,” since “everybody in that car [said] I was the one that was driving.”

Fieri detailed the sequence of events, including telling his parents who had to hire an attorney after he was arrested in his dorm room.

“It was going bad after worse because everybody was saying that I was, you know… Anyhow, the cops knew I wasn't [responsible],” he said.

The Guy’s Grocery Games host, a California native, told Shields about his father’s stern warning following the unfortunate incident.

“My dad told me, ‘Cut the sh--. You're not invincible. This is for real now. You’re not in your hometown anymore. You’re in Las Vegas…you got to focus,’” he recalled.

The traumatic moment turned into a huge learning lesson for Fieri, who described the accident as a turning point in his way of thinking.

“I was like ‘Okay – my family didn’t have any money. I’m not the smartest kid.’ Didn’t get the best grades. But if I’m going to win, I’m going to win based upon how hard I play and how disciplined I am and how driven and how controlled I am,” he said. “And if I do that then I have a better chance at getting through this.”

Now Fieri uses the experience as a real-life lesson for his sons Hunter, 26, and Ryder, 17.

“It’s things I teach my kids all the time. Don’t trust anybody to drive you. Don’t trust what anybody puts in a drink and gives it to you. Don’t trust if anybody tells you that this is safe or this is smart,” he said. “You have to be the master of your domain. You have to be in control of your environment.”

Related: Guy Fieri Approves of Son Hunter’s ‘Awesome’ Girlfriend: ‘This Is a Big Deal’ (Exclusive)

Fieri revealed that the car accident was “weird” timing since it was his sister’s birthday. The Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives host lost his sister to metastatic melanoma in 2011.

He helped raise Morgan's son Jules, 22, since her death, which he opened up about to PEOPLE in a September cover story.

“I lost my little sister 12 years ago to cancer. My dad just beat pancreatic cancer five years ago, which was a miracle. And he's been a great advocate for people that have gone through it," he said. "I think you got to live every single day. That's the biggest thing — is you never know what tomorrow's going to bring. And that's one of the reasons I live the way I live. I'm not going to waste today."

Related: Guy Fieri on Making Family His 'First Priority' and His Calling to Give Back: 'I Hope People Say I Helped'

He also spoke about his parents' resilience, crediting his positive mindset on how he was raised.

"When you watch your mom and dad bury their kid and still get up and go live their life, and of course do it with a ton of sorrow — I mean, we can't talk about my sister without my mom crying, but they go and do it every day, and I don't know how they can do it," he said. "I don't know that I have that kind of strength as a person. So they're great examples to follow."

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