Sam Gardiner, Race Across the World Contestant, Dead at 24

Race Across the World has lost a beloved former contestant.

Sam Gardiner—who competed in the BBC reality series’ second season alongside his mother Jo in 2019—has died in a car accident, Greater Manchester Police confirmed. He was 24.

According to a statement shared by police, Sam was traveling alone in a white Volkswagen in Manchester, England, in the evening of May 26 when his car veered off the road, rolling over. Police confirmed the victim was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries and shared in a later statement, which also identified Sam as the victim, that he had died in the hospital.

“His family have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers,” the statement noted. “They have asked for privacy at this terrible time.”

The Greater Manchester Police also shared a statement from Sam’s parents, Jo and Andrew, in which they wrote their son was “adored by his family.”