A man tragically died during a taco-eating contest in California's central valley -- and now, his son wants the owner of the org that hosted it to pay up.
Marshall Hutchings is suing Fresno Sports and Events -- the company that owns the Fresno Grizzlies minor league baseball team -- for hosting what he calls an inherently dangerous amateur taco eating competition at Chukchansi Park back in 2019 ... during which his father died.
In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Hutchings claims his dad, Dana, wasn't warned or told about the risks involved in devouring as much grub as possible in a short amount of time ... and, as a result, began choking on "chewed and unchewed" taco remnants.
Hutchings says people attempted to save him with CPR and a defibrillator, before paramedics arrived to rush Dana to the hospital ... where he was pronounced dead.
Hutchings asserts FS&E had no business holding an event like that with novices -- because he says professional food eating is serious business, and requires preparation and training on the participants' part ... insisting Average Joes aren't equipped to compete safely. Long story short, Hutchings claims the event was too dangerous, and the company didn't take proper steps in running it -- which ended up costing a life.
Hutchings is suing for wrongful death and is asking a judge to award him major damages. Fresno Sports had no comment.