Family of teen rider killed by bull sues rodeo

Organizer says it was a freak accident

The family of a 15-year-old boy who died in October 2016 after being crushed by a bull during a rodeo competition has filed a lawsuit against the organizers, saying they were negligent and put the teenager on a bull too dangerous for the junior competition.

Brandon Charley, 15, died in Fruitland in the Four Corners area while riding a bull named WhooWee. According to the court filing, the bull had been designated for senior-level bull riders prior to the competition.

The lawsuit was filed against the property owners, the bull owner, the CEOs of Navajo Nation Jr. Bull Riders and the national directors of the National Junior Bull Riders Association, who were cosponsors of the event.

Video of the ride, which the law firm Kennedy, Kennedy and Ives provided the Journal, showed that Charley’s hand appeared to get latched to the bull shortly after the ride began and WhooWee started to buck. Both Charley and the bull rolled in mid-air before the bull landed directly on Charley on the fourth jump.

“Brandon’s mother and brother saw him get crushed to death and then dragged in the arena,” the lawsuit states.

Charley was pronounced dead later that afternoon.

The lawsuit was filed in Santa Fe District Court and is seeking damages for Charley’s death.

The lawsuit alleged that no emergency medical technicians were on scene and no ambulance.

Frederick Snyder, who is the co-CEO of Navajo Nation Jr. Bull Riders with his wife, disputed that claim in an interview, saying that both medical personnel and an ambulance were on site.

He also said all junior participants needed to have a guardian’s permission to compete.

“You know the dangers of bull riding,” he said. Charley “was wearing protective equipment. It was a freak accident that happened that day.”

Officials from the National Junior Bull Riders Association didn’t return a request for comment.