There’s a deadly bull at the Ranching Heritage Center on the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock. A 14-year-old boy playing hide-and-seek with at least two other teens didn’t see the bull while he was running and impaled himself on one of the statute’s sharp horns. The teen tripped over a light on the ground and fell into the statue. The bull’s horn penetrated the boys chest, fatally injuring him.
According to reports of the fatal accident on the TTU campus, the boy was with two adults and two other teens, playing at the Heritage Center around three in the morning.
The tragic death is being labeled as a freak accident – something so unlikely to happen that it’s almost unbelievable and certainly unforeseeable that a death would occur. But, current industry standards call that description into question. Typically, statues with pointed ends are made dull or made incapable of penetrating human skin through the addition of safety cap or rebar to the point.
It doesn’t appear that the protective measure was taken in the case of the Lubbock boy’s fatal accident. TTU has said that it will review all existing policies and procedures to ensure that visitor safety is amply protected at the Ranching and Heritage Center. An investigation into the fatal accident is also being conducted by TTU campus police.
Source: Medical Daily, “Miguel Martinez Impaled On Horn Of Bull Statue: Texas Teen Now Dead After Fatal Game Of Hide-And-Seek,” June 25, 2013