The son of a man who died during a taco eating contest is now suing the event's organizers for negligence.
Marshall Hutchings, 18, claims his father, Dana Hutchings, 41, was not told of the potential hazards involved in competitive eating events. His father died after choking on tacos.
The event was organized by Fresno Sports and Events, the owners of the Fresno Grizzlies.
"Fresno Sports and Event, LLC., failed to fully inform decedent, Dana Hutchings, of every risk he was accepting when he agreed to enter the amateur taco-eating competition," the lawsuit states.
In order to win the competition competitors have to eat as many tacos as possible during a set amount of time. But this was an amateur event, whereas professionals train for such events, Hutchings attorney Martin Taleisnik, of the Sawl Law Group told The Fresno Bee.
The attorney adds that the competition was made more dangerous by the availability of alcohol.
It was Hutchings's first time entering an eating contest, and according to the Fresno Bee, he collapsed within the early minutes of the event. He had a mouth full of chewed and unchewed tacos obstructing his respiratory system, according to the lawsuit.
Staff tried to resuscitate him using a defibrillator and called 911, but by the time the ambulance arrived, Hutchings was unconscious. He was taken to Community Regional Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead and the Fresno County Coroner's Officer determined he'd died of choking, according to reporting by the Bee.
Derek Franks, president of Fresno Sports and Events, declined to comment on the lawsuit Monday.
