Guy Fieri is speaking out about a terrifying experience that shaped his life.
The Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives host recently opened up about a car accident he was in as a teen that left him mistakenly accused of drunk driving.
"I was in a fatality car accident when I was 19, when I was in college," Fieri shared on the July 25 episode of Brooke Shields' Now What podcast. "I wasn't driving. I was in the backseat and unfortunately, I was with a bunch of guys."
He added, "And we were drinking."
The celebrity chef, who was a student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas at the time, continued, "We were screwing off and we actually were down at the drag boat races in Las Vegas."
According to Fieri, the driver, who had been drinking as well, saw a police officer and "took off" driving before the crash.
"We got chased and the car flipped and the guy next to me was killed," he said. "It was horrific. Everybody was messed up."
Fieri said he was airlifted to a hospital, where he woke up "handcuffed to the gurney, with everybody in that car saying that I was the one that was driving."
He added that this was because the driver and the other passengers had all been in the military together.
The TV personality, who grew up in Ferndale, Calif., said police later "came to the college and arrested me in my dorm room."
The conversation also prompted a tough conversation with his father.
My dad told me, 'Cut the s--t,'" the Food Network star explained. "'You're not invincible. This is for real now. You're not in Ferndale. You're not in your hometown anymore. You're in Las Vegas. You're big time. So you gotta focus."
Fieri believes "the cops knew" he wasn't responsible for the crash. He did not share how the case was resolved.
Years later, he is instilling valuable life lessons in his sons Hunter Fieri, 26, and Ryder Fieri, 17.
"Things I teach my kids all the time—don't trust anybody to drive you," he said. "Don't trust what anybody puts in a drink and gives you. Don't trust anybody who tells you this is safe or this is smart. You have to be the master of your domain. You have to be in control of your environment."