Four rodeo fans were injured in Oregon when a bull named Party Bus hopped a wall and stampeded through a crowd.
The animal dashed through a concession area and into a parking lot before event workers with the Sisters Rodeo Association were able to corale it Saturday night.
Video from the event shows audience members singing along with Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” when Party Bus trots up to a white fence, leaps over it and disappears into a crowd of spectators.
An early report from the event’s promoter confirmed two people were hospitalized. NBC said Sunday that four people were hospitalized after their encounter with the runaway bull, including one person who was charged at and flipped over. A deputy was also reported injured.
Sisters Rodeo said Sunday that those affected were home from the hospital.
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association reminded fans that attending events featuring live animals comes with some risk.
“On Saturday June 8, an alarming incident at the PRCA sanctioned Sisters Rodeo in Oregon reminded us that while rodeo is a highly entertaining sport, on very rare occasions it can also pose some risk.”
The organization called Saturday’s incident “frightening and very rare.”
A 10-year study published by the National Institutes of Health in 2022 identified 70 injuries due to rodeo participation including one death. Half of those studied “were injured by direct contact with rodeo stock” and 34 people were hurt by falling. Head injuries were the most common.
With News Wire Services