Competitive-eating contests have become a major hit at events and food festivals. After all, you cannot deny the joy you feel when promised an infinite stock of your favourite burgers. But it isn’t all fun and games so you can get a free meal or feature in their wall of fame for licking the plate clean. Hastily hogging a plateful of food is always going to do some harm, right?
Although it doesn’t always appear to be deadly, a man actually lost his life by choking on a taco when he hurriedly tried to eat-em-all at a taco-eating competition.
As reported by The Guardian, Dana Hutchings, 41, died soon after competing in a taco-eating contest at a minor league baseball game in Fresno, California on Tuesday. But it stays unclear as to how many tacos he had consumed or whether he won the competition or not.
Tony Botti, a Fresno sheriff spokesman said, “He apparently began to choke, so Fresno Grizzlies (the Minor League Baseball team located in Fresno, California) medical staff rushed over, started to give him first aid and then turned him over to American Ambulance. An autopsy on Hutchings will be done Thursday to determine a cause of death.”
A spectator at the taco-eating competition said that he quickly noticed Hutchings because,
“he was eating so fast compared to the other two contestants. It was like he’d never eaten before. He was just shoving the tacos down his mouth without chewing.”
He added that Hutchings collapsed and hit his face on a table seven minutes into the contest. He then fell to the ground post which the contest ended immediately.
Reportedly, Tuesday night’s competition was a qualifier for Saturday’s World Taco Eating Championship to be held at Fresno’s annual Taco Truck Throwdown.
Taco Truck Throwdown is happening tomorrow from 3PM-12AM. Organizers say it’s one of the biggest Taco Truck events in the nation. Are you going?@FresnoGrizzlies pic.twitter.com/pzYQmRWDbF
— Michael Ikahihifo (@Mike_Ikahihifo) August 16, 2019
The Fresno Grizzlies later announced that the Taco Truck Throwdown 9 will move forward on Saturday but there won’t be any competitive eating as part of this year’s event.
Taco Truck Throwdown 9 will move forward on Saturday, with over 30 taco trucks and the announced entertainment as scheduled.
However, there will be no competitive eating as a part of this year's event.
— Fresno Grizzlies (@FresnoGrizzlies) August 14, 2019
During the last year’s Taco-eating Championship in Fresno, a professional eater downed 73 tacos in eight minutes.
Hutchings allegedly losing his life to a taco is unfortunate. I guess now we known our mums tell us to eat slowly and chew our food thoroughly. Mother knows best!
Cover image: Source