Horse tosses teen rodeo performer off back, tramples him to death

PILESGROVE, NJ (AP) - New Jersey authorities say a horse tossed a rodeo performer off its back in front of a crowd of thousands and then trampled him to death.

Bareback rider Coy Lutz, 19, was trampled Saturday night at the Cowtown Rodeo in Pilesgrove, Salem County. The Howard, Pennsylvania, resident died shortly afterward at a hospital.

Cowtown Rodeo owner Grant Harris told NJ.com this was the first time a rodeo participant had died from injuries suffered in the event. He says Lutz's parents were among the crowd of 2,200 attending the rodeo and they witnessed the accident.

Harris says the horse Lutz was riding tossed him and then stepped on him several times.

Cowtown touts itself as the oldest weekly running rodeo in the U.S. It opened in 1929.