Come Dine With Me winner killed promising student two weeks before his 19th birthday

A former Couples Come Dine With Me winner has been found guilty of killing a student while driving under the influence of drugs and without a licence.

Adam Smith, 33, had protested his innocence throughout the trial into the death of Oliver Pryde, 18 but was ultimately found guilty.

The maths student had been returning home after watching England in the Euro 2020 final when he was fatally struck by Smith in Kirkburton, in Huddersfield, on July 12, 2021.

Smith fled the scene of the crash but was apprehended shortly afterward. He was found guilty of causing death by careless driving when unfit through drugs and causing death while unlicensed and uninsured.

At Leeds Crown Court on Monday Smith was handed a 10-year-jail sentence and was banned from driving for nine years, YorkshireLive reported. Detective Constable Mark Turner, of the Major Collision Enquiry Team, said: “Despite having no driver’s licence or insurance and having consumed nearly twice the legal limit of drugs, Smith chose to get behind the wheel of a car with tragic consequences. His actions has left Oliver’s family and friends devastated and deprived Oliver of a promising future. I hope this highlights the dangers and consequences of drug driving – we welcome the sentence that has been handed down and hope it acts as a deterrent to others."

Smith was a previous winner of the popular Channel 4 culinary show, where he competed alongside his then-partner, and hosted a dinner party for guests from West Yorkshire. The episode he won was aired on July 18, 2016.

Oliver, originally from Cumbria, died just two weeks before his 19th birthday and wanted to be a maths teacher following his graduation from the University of Huddersfield. His mother praised him adding he "wanted teach others and inspire the next generation".

In a statement his mother, Stacey, said: "Oliver wanted to become a maths teacher at his old secondary school. His words were that he wanted to teach others and inspire the next generation just like his teachers had inspired him. No justice will ever be served in my eyes. I am left with a lifetime without Oliver and I’m left trying to rebuild the family that this person broke."

According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, drug impairment contributes to an estimated 90 fatal road crashes in Britain every year. "In 2022, a driver or rider being impaired by illegal or medicinal drugs resulted in 2,715 people being injured," it added. "Of those, 97 people were killed and 926 were seriously injured."