By Anna Edgerton, The Miami Herald –
MIAMI — Edward Archbold was willing to do anything to win an exotic python — even if it meant eating bugs both crunchy and slimy.
His enthusiasm ended up killing him.
On Friday, the long-awaited “Midnight Madness” giant roach-eating contest at the Ben Siegal Reptile Store in Deerfield Beach, Fla., kicked off around 7 p.m. with food (besides bugs) and drink to celebrate the occasion.
The winner would go home with a female Ivory Ball python.
According to rules posted in an online forum, the prize would go to “the guy or gal that eats the most bugs in 4 minutes without vomiting.”
Archbold, 32, was the proud winner. But before he could leave with his prize snake, he began throwing up. A report from the Broward Sheriff’s Office said he “had consumed dozens of roaches and worms.”
The West Palm Beach man collapsed outside the store and was rushed to Broward Health North where he was pronounced dead.
His body was taken to the Broward Medical Examiner’s Office, where officials are waiting on an autopsy report to determine what exactly killed him. None of the other contestants got sick.
