MCALESTER, Okla. – A southeastern Oklahoma teen died over the weekend in a bull riding accident during a rodeo.
According to the Ward Rodeo Company, Derby Gearhart, 16, of Coalgate, died when the bull he was riding stepped on him after he was thrown off the animal, KXII-TV reported.
Gearhart was competing in the company’s final event of the 2023 season in McAlester on Saturday and had participated in the event as a walk-on competitor, according to the television station.
Gearhart would have been 17 on Monday, KXII reported.
The Ward Rodeo Company is hosting a benefit to raise money to help Gearhart’s family pay for the teen’s funeral expenses. An account was established at the FirstBank in Coalgate for his family, according to the television station.
“We are all still in the tragedy of losing such a great person and even greater friend/son,” Gage Rice, a friend of the family, wrote in a Facebook entry posted to the rodeo company’s site.
