A preliminary autopsy states that a woman died of 'water intoxication' following a water drinking contest for a Nintendo Wii.
News10 in Sacramento reports Station 107.9 The End's "Hold your wee for a Wii" contest had contestants doing exactly what the title says. The winner was the person who didn't release their bladder the longest.
According to the woman's co-worker, after the contest, "She said to one of our supervisors that she was on her way home and her head was hurting her real bad ... she was crying and that was the last that anyone had heard from her."
The co-workers contacted the woman's mother later on to check up how she was doing and she discovered the body. No word yet on how much water the woman consumed.
I agree very tragic. I also think the radio station should be shut down. That was just a stupid competition to do and was lucky there was nto more injuries.
I am sure they will be looked into. They could of just put numbers in a raffle :P or did some questions etc. That was just damn right stupid.
Ten employees of The End (KDND, 107.9 FM) were fired Tuesday and the "Morning Rave" morning radio show has been cancelled in wake of a water-drinking contest Friday that left a Rancho Cordova woman ill hours before she died, apparently of water intoxication.
Jennifer Lea Strange, 28, drank one and three-quarters of a gallon of water - according to another contestant - Friday morning during a "Hold your Wee for a Wii" contest in which competitors had to drink as much water as they could without going to the bathroom for a Nintendo game system.
Strange is a mother of three childrens, ages 11 months, 3 and 10. Her family has maintained public silence about the death, save for a prepared statement attesting to Strange's kindness and dedication as a mother.
Monday afternoon, a spokesman for the radio station said that the station had suspended the morning show pending an internal investigation.
The show's disc jockeys - who go by the names Trish, Maney and Lukas - and morning personalities Carter and Fester would not be heard on the radio until the investigation ended, the station said. A spokesman said Tuesday that he could not reveal which 10 employees had been dismissed. However, the "Morning Rave" link on the station's Web site was missing Tuesday afternoon. The myspace.com social networking site for the station no longer listed morning DJs Trish, Lukas or Maney as its "friends."
Coroner's officials said Saturday that Strange's autoP_S_Y revealed no life-threatening medical conditions and appeared "consistent with a water intoxication death." It added, however, "the final cause of death will not be available for several months."
The family of a California woman who died after participating in a radio station's water-drinking contest to win a Nintendo Wii will sue the station, their lawyer said on Thursday.
Jennifer Strange, 28, a mother of three, died from suspected water intoxication after taking part in Friday's competition, "Hold Your Wee for a Wii." About 20 people tried to out-drink each other without going to the bathroom.
Sacramento station KDND-FM responded by firing 10 staffers, including several DJs, and canceling the Morning Rave program. The DJs had joked about people dying from water intoxication and teased Strange about her distended stomach.
"The station knew this was a dangerous and potentially deadly stunt, but flippantly dismissed the dangers," lawyer Roger Dreyer said in a statement. "Hearing the tape (of the radio show), it's very clear they knew of the dangers and could foresee that this could lead to Jennifer's death."
The station could not be reached for comment because its phone number was continuously engaged Thursday evening.
Police are also investigating the death for possible criminal charges.
An excess of water in the body can lead to the dilution of vital fluids. That in turn can lead to swelling of the brain, seizures, comas, an irregular heartbeat and in some cases death.
Prosecutors said Monday they will not file criminal charges in the death of a 28-year-old woman who participated in a radio station's water-drinking contest.
The district attorney's office said the behavior of staff at station KDND-FM did not rise to the level of criminal activity.
"There were no observable indications or symptoms that Jennifer Strange was experiencing a serious medical emergency which would have required station employees to seek or administer medical aid to her," the district attorney's office said in a statement.
Strange died Jan. 12 after taking part in an on-air contest to see which contestant could drink the most water without having to go to the restroom. The coroner's office ruled that Strange died of water intoxication.
At one point during the contest, a listener who identified herself as a nurse called "The Morning Rave" program to warn the disc jockeys that the stunt could be fatal, according to an audio tape of the broadcast.
"Yeah, we're aware of that," one of the DJs responded.
Another DJ laughed: "Yeah, they signed releases, so we're not responsible. We're OK."
Strange's family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the station, which fired 10 employees following the death.
That's just crazy, why hold such a contest when its pretty obvious it is dangerous. Then again why take part when again its obviously dangerous.
Crazy radio station
+
Crazy contestants
=
Crazy outcome
My thought as I was reading through the series of articles was 'dead stupid person, shame'.
This may sound harsh so let me explain..... I know how desperate some people are / were to get hold of a Wii, but to put your life at risk (and in her case, lose the bet) over a video games console is just stupid. No-one forced any of the contestants to either join in, or continue to be involved once they knew what the challenge was.
I'm glad that the police are not going to prosecute the station, but I'm sure that a civil suit will be brought by the family of the dead woman.
Woman dies in "Hold your wee for a Wii" compo
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