A rodeo bull jumped a fence surrounding an Oregon arena and ran through a concession area into a parking lot, injuring at least three people before horse handlers caught him, officials said.
The sold-out crowd at the 5,500-capacity Sisters Rodeo in the town of Sisters sang along to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” Saturday night, most with their cell phone flashlights on, as the bull ran around the arena before some would happen. This was supposed to be the last bull ride of the evening, when the bull jumped the fence, according to a video taken by a fan.
Danielle Smithers/AP
Other videos posted online showed the bull running through a concession area, knocking over a trash can and sending people fleeing. The bull lifted one person off the ground, turned him back and forth and bounced him on his horns before the person hit the ground.
The Sisters Rodeo Association issued a statement Sunday saying three people were injured “as a direct result of the bull, two of whom were transported to a local hospital,” NBC affiliate KTVZ-TV reported. Rodeo livestock professionals secured the bull next to livestock pens and placed it in a pen, the association said.
Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Joshua Spano said several ambulances were called to the scene. Officers took one patient to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and a deputy also suffered minor injuries while responding to the bull’s escape, Lt. Jayson Janes told KTVZ on Sunday.
Cloverdale Rural Fire Protection District told CBS News on Sunday that all of the injured had been released from the hospital. The person most seriously injured was released earlier Sunday and was able to attend the “buckaroo breakfast,” which took place today from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. local time, Cloverdale Rural Fire Protection District said.
Danielle Smithers was among the rodeo fans with her cell phone flashlight on as the bull named Party Bus moved through the ring with two riders on horseback as the crowd sang and swayed to the music.
“And about thirty seconds later I stopped and looked at it and thought to myself, ‘This is just too good not to have a video,’” Smithers said. She turned off her flashlight and “started recording the bull, just following him, doing his loop and as he started to come around his second loop in my video, he went right over” the fence, she said.
“I capture him going over the gate and disappearing,” she added, according to CBS affiliate KOIN-TV. “Then there’s a huge pause in the area he came out of. It seems like people immediately start waving their lights again, almost like they’re not really sure what to do.”
Brian Witt, spokesperson for Sisters Rodeo, told KOIN, “We were able to open the proper gates to allow the bull to get out of the spectator area and then he was restrained immediately afterwards.”
“We’ve done everything we can to prevent it, but we just can’t prevent a very athletic bull from jumping six feet over a fence,” Witt said. “It’s very rare. It rarely happens. But it does happen.”
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association said Saturday’s incident is a reminder that “while rodeo is a highly entertaining sport, on very rare occasions it can also involve some risk.”
“PRCA sends our thoughts and well wishes to those injured or otherwise affected by this frightening and very rare incident,” the association said.
Sisters Rodeo officials could not be reached to ask if an investigation is planned.
The final performance of the 84th Sisters Rodeo on Sunday went ahead as planned.
Sisters is located approximately 37 miles northwest of Bend, Oregon.
