Family of the Fresno man who died in taco eating contest is suing Grizzlies’ owner
The son of a Fresno man who died during an amateur taco eating contest in 2019 is suing the organizers of the event for negligence.
Marshall Hutchings, 18, alleges in his lawsuit filed on April 5 that his father Dana Hutchings, 41, was not made aware of the risks and danger involved in a food eating competition. The elder Hutchings died after choking on tacos.
The younger Hutchings is seeking undisclosed monetary damages for the loss of his father.
The event, organized by Fresno Sports and Events LLC, the owners of the Fresno Grizzlies, was held on Aug. 13, 2019, at Chukchansi Park during a Fresno Grizzlies minor league baseball game.
The goal of the competition was for amateur competitors to devour as many tacos as possible during a certain amount of time. Professionals in the sport take great care to train and make themselves physically ready to participate, said Hutchings’ attorney, Martin Taleisnik, of the Sawl Law Group.
“But that is not always present in an amateur eating contest,” Taleisnik said. “The conductors of this event should have made the risks known to the competitors and taken steps to protect them.”
Adding to the risk, Taleisnik said, was the availability and consumption of alcohol during the event.
“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.
“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. 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.”
Derek Franks, president of Fresno Sports and Events, declined to comment on the lawsuit Monday.
Hutchings, who had never participated in an event like that before, collapsed several minutes into the eating contest. He had a mouth full of chewed and unchewed tacos obstructing his respiratory system, according to the lawsuit.
Chukchansi staff rushed on stage and began cardiopulmonary resuscitation and used an automated external defibrillator. They also called 911 and when emergency personnel arrived they found Hutchings unconscious. He was taken to Community Regional Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead.
The Fresno County Coroner’s Office later determined that Hutchings died of choking.
This story was originally published April 5, 2021 at 3:46 PM.
