Young Woman Killed In Bull Running Fiesta Accident
This is the first picture of a 25-year-old Spanish woman who was a keen supporter of traditional bull-running events and a member of the group behind the Lodosa festival who died after being gored by an animal which broke through a barrier and charged spectators.
Leire San Pedro, from Bilbao, was fatally injured during the traditional bull-running event in Lodosa, in the northern Spanish region of Navarre, on Sunday, 27 September.
The bull, named Liberulo and numbered 75, managed to get into the area between the spectator stands and protective wooden barriers.
Leire had taken shelter beneath a staircase with other spectators when the animal charged towards the group.
She was struck by the bull and thrown into the air before hitting her head.
The young woman suffered a severe head injury and was initially taken to a local health centre before being transferred to the University Hospital of Navarra.
Another female spectator was also injured and taken to hospital following the incident.
Leire later died from her injuries on Wednesday, 30 September.
She had studied teaching in Bilbao and was a keen follower of bull-related festivities.
Leire was also a member of the cultural association linked to Lodosa’s traditional bull-on-a-rope event.
The association said in a tribute: “Leire, you will always be part of our group, our history and our memories.
“Your smile, your energy, the way you were always willing to help and take part in everything made wherever you were a little better.
“You had that ability to spread joy and fill every moment we shared with you with life.
“We are going to miss you enormously and it will be impossible not to think of you whenever we return to so many of those moments in which you were always present.
“We carry you, and will always carry you, within us, in our memories and, above all, in our hearts.”
Lodosa Town Council declared two days of official mourning following Leire’s death, with flags on municipal buildings lowered to half-mast.
Officials said the town was facing a “sad and difficult day” and offered their condolences, solidarity and affection to her family and loved ones.
Residents were also asked to support Leire’s family during the mourning period.
The event is traditionally held in Lodosa as part of celebrations honouring the Virgin of Sorrows and involves a bull being controlled with ropes attached to its horns.
The festival has been recognised as an Event of Tourist Interest in Navarre since 2014.
Leire was the third person to die during bull festivities in Lodosa since 1993 and the second fatality linked to the town’s bull-on-a-rope event since 1968.
