Mason Lowe, professional bull rider, dies after being injured during competition in Denver
A professional bull rider died Tuesday after sustaining injuries when a bull stepped on his chest during a competition in Denver, according to the Professional Bull Riders association. Mason Lowe was 25.
Lowe was competing at the National Western Stock Show, the association's CEO Sean Gleason said in a statement late Tuesday night. "The entire PBR and National Western sports family extends our heartfelt condolences and deepest sympathies to Mason's wife Abbey and his family," Gleason said.
Gleason didn't provide additional details about Lowe's injuries. Lowe was ranked 18th in the world and lived in Exeter, Missouri.
A witness who was at the bull riding event told CBS Denver Lowe was bucked off and then the bull stepped on his chest. Apparently Lowe got up, took a few steps and then collapsed.
Another witness, Aurora resident Gerardo Alvarez, told CBS Denver: "He was thrown off the bull and while he was on the ground the back legs stomped him in the chest while he trying to get up. When he got up he immediately grabbed his chest and stumbled over to the exit and then fell to the ground again grabbing his chest before he could get out of the area. They took him out on a stretcher."
In 2015, Lowe told CBS affiliate KOLR-TV he started riding on the family farm. "My dad put me on some milk calves when I was 3, and ever since then I've been going to little rodeos and started from junior rodeos to little amateur bull ridings, and now I'm at the 'Built Ford Tough' level," he told the station.
Lowe spoke to KOLR-TV as he was making his PBR debut, which he described as a dream come true. "Now that I've made it up here," Lowe said, "I really feel like I accomplished something in my life."
The National Western Stock Show will hold a fundraiser for the Lowe family at the event Wednesday night, the PBR said. A fundraising campaign for the family was also started on GoFundMe.