The man was taking part in a pie eating competition (stock photo) (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
A man tragically died after collapsing during a pie-eating competition, having uttered three strange final words.
Bruce Holland, 64, was one of eight contestants who took part in a Queensland pub’s competition during the State of Origin rugby league match in 2013.
Bruce lost consciousness while eating a chilli pie and was rushed to Townsville Hospital, where he died at around 10:30pm in July 2013.
His final words, spoken at the Bushland Beach Tavern in Townsville, were “Jeez, this chilli pie is hot”, according to the Townsville Bulletin.
Arthur McMahon, the representative of the Lillywhite Hotel Group, which owns the tavern, revealed that Bruce was a familiar face and a regular patron at the pub for more than three years, reports the Daily Star.
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Competitor Ian Coulton celebrates after winning the World Pie Eeating Competition (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
He said: “It was a very sad day today, as he was a very well-respected person down there,” Arthur said. “Whenever he was there, he always had lots of company and friends.”
Arthur said that the pub had been eagerly anticipating the competition prior to the tragedy. “It was half-time during the game, and we had the big screen out the back, and everyone was having a very enjoyable time,” he said.
Arthur noted that 64-year-old had only managed a few mouthfuls before he began to choke. “He started to gasp and sat down with a glass of water and then passed out,” Arthur said.
“There were seven other people in the competition and the meat was not overly hot,” he added. “It’s one of those tragedies that just happens – it was very difficult for us to know whether it was something that could have been avoided.”
Arthur was a local of the neighbouring suburb of Beach Holm.
Several years prior, a strikingly similar tragedy unfolded on a radio programme. Twenty-eight year old Jennifer Strange entered a competition on KDND-FM 107.9’s Morning Rave show in a bid to win a Nintendo Wii for her three children.
The ‘Hold Your Pee for a Wii’ segment required contestants to drink as much water as possible without visiting the bathroom, with a Wii console as the prize.
Jennifer was one of 18 participants who began at 6.45am, drinking from a 240ml water bottle every 15 minutes in a room at KDND’s studios in Sacramento, California – the quantity of water increased as the remaining contestants progressed.
“My head hurts. They keep telling me that it’s the water… that it will tell my head to hurt and it’ll make me puke,” she could be heard telling one of the programme’s hosts on air, to which they joked “Who told you that, the intern?”
The DJs subsequently joked that the mother of three’s bloated stomach “looked pregnant,” adding, “This is so funny.”
Jennifer reportedly consumed 7.6 litres of water, finishing in second place, before telephoning a colleague to inform them she was in considerable pain and would not be coming in that morning.
Her mother would discover her dead inside her home just an hour later. The Morning Rave programme was promptly axed following Jennifer’s death, and the station was ordered to pay $16.5million to her family in the wrongful death lawsuit. No criminal charges were brought in relation to the incident.
