The son of a California man who died after an amateur taco eating contest has filed a lawsuit against the event’s organizers.
The Fresno Bee reports that 18-year-old Marshall Hutchings is suing Fresno Sports and Events LLC—owners of the Fresno Grizzlies—for negligence, saying his 41-year-old father, Dana Hutchings wasn’t aware of the competition’s risks. The contest took place at a Grizzlies game at Chukchansi Park on Aug. 13, 2019, with Dana dying after choking on tacos.
Marshall’s lawyer, Martin Taleisnik said that professionals typically train for these events. “The lack of information outlining every risk to amateur eaters was omitted and Mr. Hutchings entered the competition with limited information on all the risks he was agreeing to,” Taleisnik said, according to the Bee. “His assumption of risk was distorted, and therefore, he was unable to assume the risks he was taking when he agreed to enter the competition.”
Dana collapsed during the contest with a mouth full of chewed and unchewed food blocking his airway, the lawsuit claims. Staff attempted to resuscitate him and used an automated external defibrillator. He became unconscious before paramedics arrived and was later pronounced dead at the hospital. According to the county coroner’s office, he choked to death.
