Grandfather horribly mauled and stomped by enraged bull

Summary: A 54-year-old grandfather was horribly mauled and stomped by an enraged bull for 20 minutes.

The incident: When Brian Oliver agreed to help his friend Mike Carroll repair a fence post at DK’s Creek and Pasture near Blacksburg, SC, he didn’t think the job was very risky.

Oliver’s opinion changed, however, when he saw an enraged bull running toward the area where the two men were laboring. Before Oliver could flee, the bull tackled him and dragged him to a creek bed, then mauled and stomped him for 20 minutes.

Carroll used his phone to call a family member for help, then approached the bull holding only a small knife. He began to stab at the bull to get the animal away from his friend. The bull attacked Carroll and began to maul him.

The response: As soon as the family member saw what was going on, he dialed 9-1-1. Responders arrived a short time later and were able to distract the bull long enough to render aid to both victims. However, the men were badly injured, and they both had to be airlifted to nearby hospitals.

Carroll recovered from his injuries, but Oliver had suffered two collapsed lungs, broken ribs, a broken shoulder bone, a broken neck and multiple spinal injuries. He died after a three-day fight for his life.

The bull was euthanized.

The aftermath: Oliver, 54, is survived by two daughters and seven grandchildren.

“Not only am I heartbroken for my sister and me to lose our dad so early in life,” wrote his daughter Megan Danielle Hughes, “but I’m even more heartbroken that our children are losing their pawpaw. Our kids were his entire world, and they all loved each other so much. He was truly the best pawpaw you could have ever imagined!”

(From the May 20, 2024, issue of Safety Alert for Supervisors. To start your no-obligation trial subscription to the publication right now, please click here.)