Man in wheelchair shoved by bull who escaped pen at Florida State Fairgrounds

A bull got loose from its pen and jumped into the crowd at a rodeo held at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa over the weekend. People chanted as a handler on horseback roped it from across the fence to bring it back into the arena. 

But, it was that moment David Calhoun, and his wife Holly realized the rope also caught onto the head rest of David's motorized wheelchair. Suddenly, they were both shoved by the bull. 

RELATED: Watch: Bull runs into rodeo crowd after escaping from pen at Florida State Fairgrounds

"I was trying to push him off, I thought he was going to jump over my head," David recalled. 

"I jumped over the fence and somehow the handler yanked the bull, it hit David's chair and the rope was basically around David's neck," Holly added. 

Holly had a bloody nose and David wasn't injured, but his wheelchair did suffer some damage. 

"The rope bent the head rest, the circuit board was bent down and ripped up and we thought it was going catch fire it got so hot," Holly said.  

The two were there watching their daughter, Megan Calhoun, not only compete but win a barrel racing competition earlier in the night. It was the first time he'd gotten to see her ride in years, and a surprise for her birthday weekend. 

"I was out taking care of my horse, but I heard my mom come running out frantic. Your dad, your dad, your dad and that was all she had to say," Megan said. 

Megan said many rushed to her dad's aid, but no official medical personnel seemed to be around.

"After it all happened, nobody stopped the rodeo" she added. "The rodeo kept right on. Meanwhile, we're all outside trying to get EMS, trying to find an ambulance. That took over 45 minutes for an ambulance to get there, which I thought was ridiculously absurd."

After being checked out, David and Holly chose not to go to the hospital. Megan and her parents are now working to get David's chair fixed or replaced. 

She said the producer from the ranch who hosted the rodeo has reached out for her dad's information, but a lot is up in the air as it operates partially broken. 

Megan said, while they are a rodeo family and don't plan on taking any legal action, they wish things were handled better. 

FOX 13 did reach out to the Florida State Fairgrounds. They said the rodeo promoter licensed the facility from the fairgrounds and is responsible for the event operations. The promoter has not returned our call. 

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