TX - Teen dies after impaling self on horn of bull sculpture while playing at 3 a.m.

[Nova]

...Nova should be along soon to offer some suggestions and point out any liability issues that the Museum should faulted for.

Sorry, I don't know Texas law. I also don't know whether the Museum grounds were secured in some way that the teen or his friends circumvented.

The Heritage Museum closes daily at 4pm, and that would surely be a factor in any lawsuit.

But as with the Pittsburgh Zoo case, negligence on the part of the victim (or the adults who were supposed to supervise him) does NOT make the Museum immune from shared negligence.

Personally, I think statues of bulls with sharp horns at that height are a bad idea. If the horn was chest-high to this victim, it must be eye-high for younger guests. And people can trip, as at least one report claims happened in this case.

 

[jjenny]

They are beautiful statues. There are a lot of dangerous things one can do-jump in front of the moving car, for instance. Not all of the dangerous things can be prevented.

 

[Nova]

They are beautiful statues. There are a lot of dangerous things one can do-jump in front of the moving car, for instance. Not all of the dangerous things can be prevented.

Yeah, but placing pointy metal statues in a high traffic area is just stupid.

(That's not to say this tragedy would have been averted, since the victim was attempting to hide.)

 

[jjenny]

Yeah, but placing pointy metal statues in a high traffic area is just stupid.

(That's not to say this tragedy would have been averted, since the victim was attempting to hide.)

They don't appear to be in a high traffic area. They appear to be in some sort of garden. At least from the photos in the OP, my impression is that the statues are not close to any road.

 

[ArianeEmory]

I just today passed a scrap-metal sculpture of the plant from Little Shop of Horrors in my local mall. It had sharp edges. We can't wrap the whole word in bubble wrap.

 

[jjenny]

Sorry, I don't know Texas law. I also don't know whether the Museum grounds were secured in some way that the teen or his friends circumvented.

The Heritage Museum closes daily at 4pm, and that would surely be a factor in any lawsuit.

But as with the Pittsburgh Zoo case, negligence on the part of the victim (or the adults who were supposed to supervise him) does NOT make the Museum immune from shared negligence.

Personally, I think statues of bulls with sharp horns at that height are a bad idea. If the horn was chest-high to this victim, it must be eye-high for younger guests. And people can trip, as at least one report claims happened in this case.

Might have tripped, slipped, or tried to jump the horn-that's per woman who was there with the teen. Personally I think he was trying to jump over it-his friend just did it, and we all know how boys are.

"There is gravel around the statue and light fixtures surround it, so the teen could have slipped on the gravel, tripped on a light fixture or been trying to jump the horn as Warren had done a short time before the accident, the woman said."
http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Death-of-impaled-teen-described-as-pure-accident-4621439.php

 

[CHERIE.T]

Sad, sad, sad?

 

[txsvicki]

The center does have Halloween and Christmas activities for kids, and if the 5 longhorn statues are at the entrance kind of like they're placed out in the open on the plains then maybe the university should look into some safety measures.

 

[Nova]

I just today passed a scrap-metal sculpture of the plant from Little Shop of Horrors in my local mall. It had sharp edges. We can't wrap the whole word in bubble wrap.

So because the world can't be made perfectly safe, we should have stayed on the ancient savannah and waited to be eaten by sabertooth tigers! Why bother building a fire or making weapons out of flint?

I really don't get the logic. Why shouldn't places that appeal to children (including zoos and museums) be made as safe as possible?

 

[Ray_of_hope]

"The long, curved horns of the bulls are pointed outward." And who authorized this? Good Lawd, a blind person could also be at risk! Why weren't the horns blunted... So very sad and preventable.

 

[Elley Mae]

"The long, curved horns of the bulls are pointed outward." And who authorized this? Good Lawd, a blind person could also be at risk! Why weren't the horns blunted... So very sad and preventable.

The statues depict bulls standing in different positions, there appear to be 19 in total, depending on how the bull is holding his head will dictate where and at what angle the horns are. Some horns face straight up while the head is looking ahead and some face straight ahead while the animal is looking ahead. They are used as a form of dominance and protection(weapons). I hope if a blind person shows up there at 3 a.m. they at least have their seeing eye dog with them. I don't think they would be playing hide & seek. Which seems weird to play with all the lights that are there in the ground to light up the bulls at night. jmo





"Maybe we shouldn't have been out that late," she said. "It was pure accident. We'd been playing for like an hour.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/06/24/2986793/texas-teen-impaled-on-horn-of.html

 

[Schuby]

Longhorn steer have a special place in Texas' history and mythology. I think this is tragic but that the statues are beautiful and that it is a wonderful way for someone who may never have the pleasure of actually being near one in real life to grasp their majesty, beauty, and, indeed, the tremendous size and shape of their horns.

 

[ArianeEmory]

So because the world can't be made perfectly safe, we should have stayed on the ancient savannah and waited to be eaten by sabertooth tigers! Why bother building a fire or making weapons out of flint!

I searched my original post but can't find the part where I said any of that.

(Although your point about weapons out of flint is interesting--without sharp edges, civilization wouldn't have gotten off the ground.)

 

[TrackerSam]

The center does have Halloween and Christmas activities for kids, and if the 5 longhorn statues are at the entrance kind of like they're placed out in the open on the plains then maybe the university should look into some safety measures.

I can see where placing them on pedestals could make them safer without ruining the art. They're quite majestic IMO.

 

[jjenny]

I can see where placing them on pedestals could make them safer without ruining the art. They're quite majestic IMO.

Right now they look like they are grazing. Putting them on pedestals will certainly ruing that impression. We can't wrap the whole world in bubble wrap, although apparently many want to keep on trying.

 

[HMSHood]

I can not think of one reason for a 14 yr old to be out at 3 a.m. not one.

Teen Impaled on Horn of Texas Tech Bull Statue
http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Teen-Impaled-on-Horn-of-Texas-Tech-Bull-Statue-212843911.html

A woman who was with a group of children playing a late-night game of hide-and-seek when a Texas teen impaled himself on the horn of a bull statue says she isn't exactly sure how it happened but that the boy's death was a "pure accident."

Marenda Podhorksy, a mother of four who was one of two adults nearby when 14-year-old Miguel Martinez impaled himself on the statue's horn as he played in a park early Saturday near the National Ranching Heritage Center on the Texas Tech University campus in Lubbock, said she's not sure if the boy slipped, tripped or was trying to hurdle the horn.

They were supervised by an adult.

 

[Nova]

I searched my original post but can't find the part where I said any of that.

(Although your point about weapons out of flint is interesting--without sharp edges, civilization wouldn't have gotten off the ground.)

Sorry. I wasn't trying to pick on you. But I was extending the logic that because we can't make everyone perfectly safe, we shouldn't make anyone safe at all. That appeared to be what you and others were saying.

 

[kdblaisdell]

Okay, I'm definitely not one for bubble wrapping or padding the entire world--but--these statues strike me as a bit scary. They are beautiful but I keep thinking that college kids (much less younger people) aren't always the sharpest tools in the shed and having strategically placed spikes on campus might not be a great idea. There has to be a way to maintain their beauty and make them a bit less, err, pointy.

 

[Nova]

FWIW, I agree that the museum, with all the original prairie structures intact as well as the longhorn statues, looks wonderful!

 

[jjenny]

FWIW, I agree that the museum, with all the original prairie structures intact as well as the longhorn statues, looks wonderful!

Even if they put them on pedestals, somebody can still find a way, especially if people are going to try and climb/jump over them.