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Bull Statue Fatally Gores Texas Teen

14-year-old dies in horrific hide-and-seek accident
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 26, 2013 2:12 AM CDT
Updated Jun 26, 2013 2:43 AM CDT
Bull Statue Fatally Gores Texas Teen
Memorials rest at the feet of the statue at the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock, Texas.   (AP Photo/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal,Zach Long)

Friends and family are mourning a Texas boy killed in a horrific freak accident during a late-night game of hide-and-seek. Miguel Martinez, 14, was playing with four other children at National Ranching Heritage Center at Texas Tech University in Lubbock when he ran into the horn of a metal bull statue, fatally impaling himself, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reports. The death was "pure accident," says one of the two adults who accompanied the children.

"He just happened to trip over one of the lights. I guess he lost his balance and he went straight down on one of the horns," his mother tells KCBD. "It's hard for all of us. No mother expects this to happen to their child." Miguel's best friend was with him as he died minutes after being impaled. "I just laid there beside him. I put my jacket over him and just held him tight and told him I loved him," he says. "He was like a big brother to me." The university says it will review its facilities and procedures to prevent any such tragedies in future, the BBC reports. (More Texas stories.)

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