A rodeo in Oregon took a turn for the worst this past Saturday when a bull jumped the fence into the crowd, injuring three people.
The bull reportedly jumped six feet over the fence as the rodeo had been coming to a close. As many as 5,500 people were in attendance at the sold-out event.
“Officials said that, while two people sustained minor injuries from direct contact, a social media video shows a woman being flipped in the air and trampled by the bull. She was taken to the hospital for treatment of a leg injury but was quickly released,” reported KOIN 6 News. “Another of the injured people was a Deschutes County sergeant who hurt his knee.”
Rodeo attendee Danielle Smithers captured the horrifying event on video when it happened.
“I capture him completely going over the gate and disappearing,” she said. “Then there’s this huge pause in the zone he came out of. It seems like people go right back to waving their lights, almost like they’re not really sure what to do.”
Smithers said she would “definitely go back” to the Sisters Rodeo despite the experience.
“I know this is one of those circumstances where you step into a situation like that, whether it be an amusement park or a rodeo or a zoo, for that matter. You’re always accepting the risk,” she said.
The rodeo pickup men were able to recapture and subdue the bull within minutes of it jumping the fence. Sisters Rodeo spokesman Brian Witt told KOIN 6 News that strict protocols were in place to handle this type of event, adding that these types of incidents are “extremely rare.”
“We were able to open the right gates so that the bull could get out of the spectator area and then it was retained immediately right after that,” he said.
“You might hear about one a year in the industry like this,” he added. “But that was a very first.”
Smithers told Koin 6 News that the rodeo should look into adopting a siren that can warn people in such an event.
“Having some form of siren or something that they state at the beginning of the event saying, ‘Hey, if you hear this tone, please stop whatever it is you’re doing,’” she said. “We had been listening to the announcer all night. So I think at that point, if you’re in your own conversation with somebody, you’re not paying attention to what they’re saying.”
Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning Christian tech thriller, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. “Better than Killers of the Flower Moon,” wrote Mark Judge. “You haven’t seen a story like this before,” wrote Christian Toto. A high-quality, ad-free rental can also be streamed on Google Play, Vimeo on Demand, or YouTube Movies. Follow on X @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.