Justin Jeffries of Cole Camp, Mo., died Saturday from injuries suffered while competing in the Allen County Fair Rodeo.
Jeffries, 22, was attempting to go eight seconds atop the bull 8-Ball of the C.K. McKellips Rodeo Company, Raymore, Mo.
The bull bucked Jeffries off and the cowboy hit the ground on his back. The bull’s hind hooves hit Jeffries in the chest and stomach before arena personnel could get the 1,700-pound bull away from Jeffries.
Rodeo and emergency personnel rushed to Jeffries. Allen County EMTs immobilized the injured cowboy and transported him to Allen County Hospital, where he died.
It is the first fatality in the 27-year history of the Allen County Fair Rodeo.
“This is the first time anyone can remember anything of this nature happening,” said Angela Slocum, Allen County Fair Rodeo committee member. “It was very devastating to everyone on the fair board. The Allen County Fair Board extends its deepest sympathy to the family of Justine Jeffries.”
“We didn’t know this young man well. It was his first year as a member of the Missouri Rodeo Cowboy Association,” said Regan McKellips of McKellips Rodeo Company. “He was a young bull rider. He had a helmet and a vest on so he had the protective gear.”
McKellips said she was told it appeared the bull’s hooves came down and got under the vest.
Funeral services for Jeffries are Friday in Cole Camp, Mo., a small town near Sedalia, Mo.
He was the son of Daren Dwight Jeffries, Boonville, Mo., and Shannon Lynn Pierson, Cole Camp.
