Man dies in middle of taco eating contest at Fresno Grizzlies game

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An extremely unfortunate sequence of events took place at a recent minor league baseball game at Chukchansi Park, even though it stemmed from a contest that had great intentions.

The Fresno Grizzlies, the Washington Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate, held a taco eating contest at a game on Tuesday night, in anticipation of their ninth annual “Taco Truck Throwdown,” which is scheduled for Saturday.

One particular man, Dana Hutchings, participated in the event, but he collapsed while eating, according to the Sacramento Bee. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, but reportedly died on arrival. Here are the details:

Fans told the Bee the man collapsed to the ground in the middle of the contest, and EMTs attempted CPR and the Heimlich maneuver before the ambulance arrived. It is unclear how many tacos he had eaten and if he had family or friends present.

The coroner’s office did not give an official cause of death, and has not responded to a request for comment from SFGate.

An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday, to determine the official cause of death, although it’s believed that he choked on some of the food he was attempting to consume.

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