A MAN WHO died after winning a live cockroach-eating contest choked to death on the animals, according to his autopsy.
Edward Archbold, 32, died when his airway was blocked by cockroach body parts after the competition in Florida. The grand prize was a python.
The medical examiner’s report stated his cause of death as “asphyxia due to choking and aspiration of gastric contents”.
Medical examiner Craig T Mallak watched a video of the contest, in which Archbold can be seen celebrating his victory. Mallak told the Associated Press:
There is a flap called the epiglottis that is supposed to stop objects from going into the lungs. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work. In the video you could see him trying to swallow and breathe at the same time. We can’t do both simultaneously.
The Miami Herald reports that Archbold had eaten “two ounces of meal worms, 35 horn worms and a bucketful of discoid roaches”.
In the video, he can be seen covering his mouth with his hands to prevent the animals from crawling out.
Archbold’s death has been ruled accidental. None of the other contestants became ill.
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