Man Dies Trying to Eat Doughnut in Shop's Eating Challenge

DENVER (AP) — A man trying to eat a half-pound glazed doughnut in 80 seconds as part of a Denver doughnut shop's eating challenge choked to death, one of two people who died in such contests this past weekend. Travis Malouff, 42, died early Sunday of asphyxia due to obstruction of the airway, a coroner said. He had been participating in a contest to eat a doughnut the "size of a small cake," witness Julia Edelstein said Tuesday. Winners get the doughnut for free and a button saying they won the challenge, which Voodoo Doughnuts said it was suspending, according to statement given to Denver news station KUSA-TV. The station first reported Malouff's death, which came the same day as that of 20-year-old Caitlin Nelson, who had choked during a pancake-eating contest days earlier at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. In Denver, Edelstein said the mood was festive as she stood in line at Voodoo Doughnuts, a Portland, Oregon-based business known for its creative, colorful pastries that sell for about $3 each. People waiting to buy a doughnut around closing time were singing and dancing along to the music playing in the shop when Edelstein heard an employee announce the challenge: "Let's give him a round of applause." Malouff tore the doughnut in half and started eating it, walking around looking determined, Edelstein said. The employee announced the elapsed time: 30 seconds. Malouff took a sip of water, another bite of doughnut and then hunched ...
Source: JEMS Patient Care - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: News Patient Care Source Type: news
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