Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl
A 16-year-old girl has died from injuries sustained from a fall in a bull-riding incident in Tampa, Fla., myFOXtampabay.com reported Saturday.
According to a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) report, Brooke Ann Coats of Riverview was pronounced dead at about 10:00pm Friday during a surgery at Tampa General Hospital.
Authorities said Coats was riding a bull at 301 Rodeo when she was thrown from the animal and kicked at least once in the chest.
The teen was able to stand and walk out of the ring but began experiencing difficulty breathing and collapsed a short time later. She was taken to hospital, but died in surgery.
Both her parents were in the bleachers watching their daughter when the incident occurred, Hillsborough sheriff’s spokesman Larry McKinnon told the St. Petersburg Times, and one had signed a liability waver acknowledging the sport’s risks.
“Right now, it appears to be a tragic, accidental death,” McKin non said Saturday morning.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing but detectives do not suspect any foul play.
The owner of the facility, Corey Costa, did not immediately return phone calls about the matter.
-WRITTEN BY NEWSCORE
OMG how tragic that someone so young has died doing what she must have loved. Isn’t there something that can be done to make it safer? Is there anything that can be worn on the chest to cushion a bull kick so that it doesn’t kill you? I know this sort of injury has caused deaths in the past. It’s such a dangerous sport to be involved in.
There is a protective vest that the riders usually wear. I thought in most rodeo circuits it is recquired! Although I do not know if it would have helped in this situation, she might have had it on but I haven’t heard if she was for sure! The vest is made to protect the rider and the clowns from being gored by the bull’s horns! I don’t know if they test them for blunt force trama though!