Amadeu Campos Silva, a professional bull rider who was competing in the Professional Bull Riders' Velocity Tour, was killed Sunday when he was stomped on by a bull during a PBR event in Fresno, Calif. He was 22.
According to USA Today, Silva was competing in a Velocity Tour event at the Save Mart Center in Fresno on Sunday, riding "Classic Man" in Round 2. Silva fell from his seat 5.31 seconds into his ride and suffered sever chest injuries after the bull stomped on him. Silva was transported to Community Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead from his injuries.
Speaking to USA Today, PBR livestock director Cody Lambert characterized the circumstances of Silva's death as an unfortunate accident, attributing the fatality to his spur being tangled up and turning him upside down right under the back leg of the bull.
"This was not an act of aggression," Giangola said. "The bull was bucking in his normal pattern. Amadeu's spur got hung up in the flank rope, and he was pulled under the bull in a freak accident."
A native of Brazil, Silva came to the United States after competing in the PBR Brazil tour from 2017 to 2018. Competing in the Velocity Tour - a step below the PBR's main division - Silva competed in the PBR World Finals in 2020 and was characterized as a rising star among bull riders.
"Amadeu was a rising star in our sport; a cowboy with so much potential on and off the dirt," read a statement by the PBR. "The entire PBR and western sports family extend our thoughts, prayers, and heartfelt condolences to Amadeu's family and friends. Please say a prayer tonight for them, and may Amadeu's soul eternally rest in peace."
Silva's death is the second fatality in a PBR event in a nearly three year period. In January of 2019, rising PBR star Mason Lowe died after being stomped in the chest during a Velocity Tour event in Denver.
