I don't think the parents did anything wrong. Those poor people!
I don't know how many kids die in rodeo, but we have a couple of local high school football players die during practice just about every year. More kids die in car accidents. Especially with alcohol. I guess that's why we have a law here in the nanny state that teens can't drive wit other teens during their first year of driving.
My 13 year-old brother died in a fall on Boy Scout hike nearly 25 years ago and I know that I'm probably a little more over protective than other parents as a result. As you can guess, I probably wouldn't allow my kids to play football with the record around here, but luckily I have daughters. I have to worry more about them dating some POS that thinks he can slap them around or pull a date rape. It seems like those guys usually look for girls without a strong father presence around, so I'll keep my eyes up and we'll probably be good.