ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 4, 1996 TAG: 9602050098
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
A 23-year-old Augusta County man died Friday night after he was trampled by a bull at an indoor rodeo facility in Bedford County.
Lt. John McCane of the Bedford County Sheriff's Office said Jason Smallwood of Staunton was dead on arrival at Lynchburg General Hospital.
According to Todd Wood, a friend of Smallwood's, the man was thrown off a bull, which then stepped on his upper chest and threw him against a fence. Wood said Smallwood was on the bull for about three seconds.
McCane said friends distracted the bull while Smallwood made it over the fence before collapsing. He never regained consciousness.
The death occurred at Hunting Wood Farms, in the 400 block of Coffee Road in the Boonsboro section of the county. The farm has held weekly rodeo events for about a month, McCane said, with winners receiving cash prizes.
The rodeo scheduled for Friday was all but canceled because of the weather, McCane said, but a group of 12 Augusta County residents showed up despite the cancellation and were allowed to ride the bulls. The accident occurred about 10 p.m.
Wood said it was the first time Smallwood had been on a bull. Smallwood had prepared for the bull ride by practicing on a bucking barrel - a mechanical ride simulator, Wood said.
"He said he wanted to try it once," Wood said. "He always wanted to try something once."
LENGTH: Short : 35 lines KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB