Deadly Wii contest results in firing of 10 radio employees

[WangChung]

Mark Raby
January 17, 2007 10:27
Sacramento (CA) - Local Sacramento radio station KDND has fired the hosts of its morning talk show, along with seven other employees, after an on-air contest to win a Nintendo Wii ended up killing one of the participants.


The show, "Morning Rave", has also been pulled while the station investigates the death of 28-year-old Jennifer Lea Strange. During Tuesday's show, a group of people had a chance to win an elusive Nintendo Wii by competing in a contest to see who could drink the most water without going to the restroom.

Strange, who finished second place in the contest, skipped work because of a headache and went home. She was later found dead. According to a preliminary autopsy, Strange died of water intoxication, reports the Associated Press. She had reportedly drunk nearly two gallons of water before she quit.

KDND has launched an internal investigation, but the county sheriff's office said it was not investigating. Strange signed a waiver, relieving the station of any legal guilt or responsibility for her death.

Tom's

Guess you can have too much of anything really.

[mr_knowitall15]

water intoxication

sounds like a retarded statement.

[ahmad]

Too much water can kill you...

[Tenro]

Pretty sad actually, the employees shoulda done their homework though... a few marathon-runners have died this way, and there were a few reported cases of people on E drinking a fatal amount of water.

Most people would think it's safe, I mean, we NEED water to live . I guess too much of anything can kill you...

[safan80]

sounds like a retarded statement.

yeah and it's usually called Drowning. water intoxication fits because she had too much water in her system. she couldn't hold her water

[dqniel]

No. It is most definitely intoxication. Too much water creates a chemical imbalance and your organs shut down. Something about critical sodium deficiency or something like that.

[Tenro]

No. It is most definitely intoxication. Too much water creates a chemical imbalance and your organs shut down. Something about critical sodium deficiency or something like that.

Yeah, that's right, it's essentially water posoning. The water dissolves sodium electrolytes which are vital in keeping your cells correctly hydrated. Drinking about a gallon of water (3.5 Litres) in a short period is enough to prove fatal, the other contestants can count themselves lucky...

[irev210]

yah it is actually safer to drink more beer, because you get drunk and pass out.

[freeloader]

Strange signed a waiver, relieving the station of any legal guilt or responsibility for her death.

Doesn't mean a thing. I guarantee you that her family members will sue on behalf of the children and more than likely win. It's the nature of the U.S. courts.

BTW...the sheriff IS investigating this due to on air comments by some of the DJ's. They were aware of death by water intoxification and were actually making jokes about it.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070118/...r_intoxication

As quoted from article...

On Wednesday, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department launched a criminal investigation into the incident, and attorneys for the family of Jennifer Lea Strange said they plan to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the radio station.

[deathman20]

Im sorry while its a sad thing and someone should of done there homework it was her fault. The radio station didn't force it down her, she could of left at any time. Good way to tie up the court system for a few weeks/months.

[Speederlander]

Im sorry while its a sad thing and someone should of done there homework it was her fault. The radio station didn't force it down her, she could of left at any time. Good way to tie up the court system for a few weeks/months.

I tend to agree that she did this to herself, but if you encourage someone to do something they think is fairly safe and you it most certainly is NOT, do you bear some level of responsibility? I would say yes. I would not award the famility of the WOMAN any money, but as the DA I would try to fine that radio station out of existance. That way there aren't stupid lawsuits and the people with some level of responsibility still pay.

[HungryForHertz]

Hold your wee for a wii?

This is ridiculous. Why would you compete in such a stupid competition

[biohead]

Hold your wee for a wii?

This is ridiculous. Why would you compete in such a stupid competition

Because PEOPLE

are STUPID.

[phelan1777]

When I was in basic we had to drink mad amounts of water, but also had a type of juice (we called it Gatorade) that had sodium suppliments in it. I am not sure, but for like every 2+ liters of water, would drink like a 32oz "Gatorade".

[uOpt]

Did they give them distilled water?

That'll do the kill easily.

And then the radio's waiver won't be sufficient.

[vudoodoodoo]

Too much water = bad.
She' stupid.

[Thorry]

Distilled water is very dangerous!

If you drink about 50cl of distilled water you can die. This is because the stomach can't contain it, so it runs right in your innerts.

Also: Drinking a lot of water (or not drinking a lot of water and holding your pee) is very dangerous.

Everything injested into our body needs to be filtered and threated before the body can either use it or dispose it. Even simple water needs to be filtered.

If you drink too much you overload the system causing kidney and liver failure. The same if you hold your pee, the kidneys get overloaded.

However, it is safe to hold your pee for about 24 hours (provided you are healthy), after that it WILL cause damage (it can also cause damage before that, but at the 24 hour mark you are sure of it).

Drinking too much of anything however will kill you a lot sooner...

[RyderOCZ]

I drink distilled water all day long, there is nothing wrong with drinking distilled water.

I drink close to 1 gallon daily (not all at once)

[kemist]

I drink distilled water all day long, there is nothing wrong with drinking distilled water.

I drink close to 1 gallon daily (not all at once)

Eh, just because you dont notice a problem doesnt mean that one is not there. You should most definitely not drink distilled water in large amounts; see above statements about sodium.

[Order]

At least the legal settlement will get her kids a Wii.

[uOpt]

I drink distilled water all day long, there is nothing wrong with drinking distilled water.

I drink close to 1 gallon daily (not all at once)

Of course you can drink it normally. In particular with the typical salty U.S. diet.

But it will kill you several times as fast (compared to normal drinking water) if you drink it in a competition.

[WeStSiDePLaYa]

Distilled water is very dangerous!

If you drink about 50cl of distilled water you can die. This is because the stomach can't contain it, so it runs right in your innerts.

Also: Drinking a lot of water (or not drinking a lot of water and holding your pee) is very dangerous.

Everything injested into our body needs to be filtered and threated before the body can either use it or dispose it. Even simple water needs to be filtered.

If you drink too much you overload the system causing kidney and liver failure. The same if you hold your pee, the kidneys get overloaded.

However, it is safe to hold your pee for about 24 hours (provided you are healthy), after that it WILL cause damage (it can also cause damage before that, but at the 24 hour mark you are sure of it).

Drinking too much of anything however will kill you a lot sooner...

your wrong.

many brands of bottled water are DISTILLED. in fact im drinking it right now.

you are thinking of DEIONIZED. big big difference. and they dont sell deionized water for consumption.

yay, lets chalk this one up to another WC misconception that is perpetuated .


also, your remark about the kidneys is also wrong. your kidneys do not hold urine, your bladder does. and your bladder isnt strong enough to contain the pressure needed to damage your kidneys. (simple terms: youd piss yourself first before damaging your kindeys)

[RyderOCZ]

Wow... WSP and I agree on something

[Drunner611]

yeah and it's usually called Drowning. water intoxication fits because she had too much water in her system. she couldn't hold her water

LMAO

[uOpt]

Destilled water is not as dangerous as Thorry implied. What he said is basically what German schools taught me in the 1980ties, which is incorrect.

It doesn't change the fact that destilled water it kills you much quicker than normal drinking water in a drinking contest. Because the cell membranes need a certain concentration of sodium, and watering the sodium you have in your body down below a certain level kills you.

So if the radio show served destilled water then that is basically poisoning the contestants and the legal waiver would be NIL.