The family of a man who died after participating in a Taco eating contest in August 2019 is suing the event’s organizers, according to The Fresno Bee.
Dana Hutchings, a 41-year-old California man, died after choking during a taco eating contest at a Fresno Grizzlies game at Chukchansi Park, according to The Fresno Bee. The lawsuit against Fresno Sports and Events, the owners of the Fresno Grizzlies, claimed they neglected to make Hutchings aware of the risks of participating in the competition, The Fresno Bee reported. Hutchings had not participated in any amateur eating contests in the past, and choked just minutes after the contest began,the suit claimed. He later died at the hospital, and the coroner’s office confirmed the cause of death was choking, according to The Fresno Bee.
The death of a man who officials suspect choked while participating in an amateur taco-eating contest at a minor league baseball game in Fresno this week has prompted the team to cancel a championship eating contest at the stadium. https://t.co/Uo5E8roJPe
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) August 15, 2019
Marshall Hutchings, Dana’s 18-year-old son, filed the lawsuit Monday, and the family is being represented by attorney Martin Taleisnik, according to The Fresno Bee.
Taleisnik is arguing on behalf of the family that the eating contest organizers did not make participants aware of the training and care professional eating contest participants go through in preparation for such eating contests, The Fresno Bee reported. “The conductors of this event should have made the risks known to the competitors and taken steps to protect them,” Taleisnik said, according to The Fresno Bee. (RELATED: Man Finds WWII-Era Hand Grenade, Immediately Drives It To Local Taco Bell)
Taco eating contest death lawsuit:
A teenager claims the Fresno Grizzlies were negligent in handling the 2019 amateur eating contest where his father died.
This one: https://t.co/tO4rLkFadQTonight at 5 on @ABC30, where he says they failed his father. pic.twitter.com/iO8yy58xpC
— Corin Hoggard (@corinhoggard) April 5, 2021
Hutchings’ family is seeking unspecified damages from Fresno Sports and Events, according to The Fresno Bee.