He Raced to Eat a Massive Doughnut, and It Killed Him

Competitive eating has taken another awful turn, this time in Colorado. Last week a Connecticut college student whose dad died on 9/11 apparently choked to death during a pancake-eating contest, and early Sunday, a 42-year-old man suffered the same fate while scarfing down a giant doughnut, KUSA reports. Witnesses say Travis Malouff was taking part in an eating challenge at Voodoo Doughnut when he started choking; two bystanders reportedly tried to help Malouff but didn't know how to perform the Heimlich. Cops and paramedics got the call about Malouff around 1:30am, but it was too late: The city's medical examiner says he died of "asphyxia, due to obstruction of the airway."

Q13 reports that Malouff was taking part in Voodoo's "Tex-Ass Challenge," which involves gorging on a massive doughnut with a 7-inch diameter (about the size of six normal-sized doughnuts) in less than 80 seconds. The supposed prize: a button and free meal. A witness tells KUSA that Voodoo's mega-sweet is "too much food for one person" and that Malouff "was trying to force it down." One of the shop's managers confirmed to KUSA a man had died in the eatery's lobby; Voodoo put out a statement saying it was working with police to get to the bottom of what happened. Meanwhile, Malouff's dad says his son would "probably take" any challenge placed before him and calls his death "tragic." (This has happened with hot dogs, too.)