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VIDEO: Friends Remember Brooke Ann Coats Outside Site of Fatal Bull-Riding Accident
Friends gather outside the cross and poster board that marks a memorial for Brooke Ann Coats, 16, who died Feb. 18 after she fell off, and was kicked by, a bull at the Remington Rough Stock bullring arena on U.S. 301.
Miles away from where she would have been attending her morning classes, Brooke Ann Coats was remembered by friends and Riverview High schoolmates at the entranceway to the bull ring where a tragic fall claimed her life three days earlier.
They vowed never to forget her.
Ever.
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"My kids are going to hear stories about her, my grandkids are going to hear stories about her," said Nick Valadez. "She's going to live on forever."
Coats died in surgery Feb. 18 at Tampa General Hospital after walking away from a bull-riding accident some 90 minutes earlier at the Remington Rough Stock bull arena on U.S. 301, just north of the Crosstown Expressway.
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On Feb. 21, a dozen friends gathered in grief and prayer to remember Coats, and to talk about the legacy of her young life.
"She was just a wonderful person. Her smile was brighter than the sun and anytime you saw her she was smiling," said Maggie Gundlach, a student at Riverview High. "She loved riding bulls and loved everything about it and knew what she was getting into. She decided to live her life the way she wanted and that's what she did."
View the video to listen to her friends' remembrances and click each photo to read more about their tribute to Brooke Ann Coats.
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