Hot dogs. Credit: Wiki Commons.
A South Dakota man died from choking on a piece of food while competing in a hot dog eating contest over the weekend.
Walter Eagle Tail, 47, began to choke while attempting to quickly eat hot dogs during a contest Thursday in Custer, S.D., according to the Rapid City Journal.
Paramedics tried to save Eagle Tail and then rushed him to a hospital where he later died.
“There was someone doing CPR when we arrived,” Custer County Sheriff Rick Wheeler told the Rapid City Journal on Monday. “Basically, he probably just suffocated. It got lodged in his throat and they couldn’t get it out.”
A pie eating contest scheduled for the next day was canceled because of the incident.
Competitive eating contests often take place around the Fourth of July. New York City hosts the popular Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, which is broadcast on ESPN.
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