In an unexpected turn of events, a 41-year-old man has died while competing in a taco-eating contest at a minor league baseball game in California.

Dana Hutchings collapsed on Tuesday night during a taco eating competition during an innings break at a Fresno Grizzlies AAA baseball game at their home ground in Chukchansi Park stadium. He was immediately rushed to hospital but shortly passed away after arriving.

Witness reports from fans at the game stated that Hutchings was “eating so fast compared to the other two” contenders, almost as if “it was like he’d never eaten before.” The same witness also stated that Hutchings “was just shoving the tacos down his mouth without chewing.”

And yes, the competition was technically on a ‘Taco Tuesday’. Allegedly, at around seven minutes into the contest, Hutchings collapsed and hit his head on the table in front of him, before eventually falling to the ground unconscious. The event was then called off immediately as emergency services rushed to the scene.

Officials have stated that it was unknown how many tacos the man had even eaten, and whether or not he had even won the contest. Kind of a moot point considering the gravity of the situation.

The Fresno sheriff’s department issued a statement that did not confirm an official cause of death, but stated that they “have an idea” what caused it.

Fresno Grizzlies officials also issued an official statement to Twitter asserting that they were “devastated to learn” of Hutching’s death.

“The Fresno Grizzlies extend our heartfelt prayers and condolences to the family of Mr. Hutchings,” they wrote, “The safety and security of our fans is our highest priority.”

The Fresno Grizzlies were set to hold a professional-level taco-eating contest at a Taco Truck Throwdown event scheduled for this weekend. That contest has since been cancelled.

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