Radio show pulled after woman dies from drinking too much water Options

[amysmojo]

So sad

"A morning radio show has been pulled off the air and 10 employees have been fired after a woman died last week after trying to win a Nintendo Wii video game console in a water-drinking contest at the show’s studios. The woman, Jennifer Lea Strange, 28, was one of about 18 participants who tried to win the video-game system on Friday by seeing how much water they could drink without going to the bathroom. Ms. Strange drank nearly two gallons over two hours, according to a contestant. She was found dead several hours later. Preliminary autopsy findings indicated the cause was water intoxication."



Here is a longer version w/ more info:


SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Jennifer Strange complained on-air Friday that she had a headache and felt lightheaded, but offered to drink even more water if hosts of KDND's "Morning Rave" wanted her to.
The haunting exchange that preceded her death several hours later is captured in a recording of the show obtained by the Sacramento Bee.

The 4-hour-40-minute recording indicates that the show's hosts knew of the dangers of water intoxication — even discussing a case two years ago in which a student at California State University-Chico died after drinking too much water during a fraternity hazing.

"Maybe we should have researched this," one of the DJs is heard saying before the contest started. "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" competitors had to drink as much water as they could without going to the bathroom for a Nintendo game system.

In a groggy conversation with a co-host of the "Morning Rave," Strange, 28, said after dropping out of the contest that her head hurt, but that "they keep telling me though that it's the water, that it will tell my head to hurt and then it will make me puke."

"Who told you that, the intern?" a host asked Strange.

"Yeah," she replied. "It hurts, but makes you feel lightheaded."

Strange and the contest's winner were escorted from a kitchen inside the station and into a studio, where one host said Strange's stomach was so large she looked "three months' pregnant." A host then asked Strange if she wanted to lie down.

"I could probably drink more if you guys could pick me up," Strange told the hosts. "Do you want me to? What can I get?"

Strange finished as the runner-up to another woman. In exchange for dropping out, Strange received two tickets to Friday night's Justin Timberlake concert at Arco Arena. She was found dead Friday afternoon.

Nearly 40 minutes before kicking off the contest, the "Morning Rave" hosts discussed the dangers of water poisoning. One DJ mentioned he had once drunk two gallons of water.

"Can't you get water poisoning and, like, die?" asked another host.

"Your body is 98 percent water," a co-host responded. "Why can't you take in as much water as you want?"

Someone in the background was heard asking about "that poor kid in college," apparently referring to Matthew Carrington, who died in 2005 after an all-night fraternity hazing.

"That's what I was thinking," a host responded.

"Yeah, well, he was doing other things," someone else said.

About two hours into the contest, a woman who identified herself as Eva called the show. She warned the hosts that "those people that are drinking all that water can get sick and possibly die from water intoxication."

One host replied that "we're aware of that." Another said the contestants had signed releases, "so we're not responsible."

"And if they get to the point where they have to throw up, then they're going to throw up and they're out of the contest before they die, so that's good, right?" one host said. One of the hosts then asked a DJ stationed in the kitchen with the contestants, "Is anybody dying in there?"

"We got a guy who's just about to die," he said.

"Make sure he signs the release," the host replied.

Contestants were given 8-ounce bottles of water to drink in two minutes. Within 10 minutes, the contestants drank again. After eight rounds, contestants drank 16-ounce bottles. During each round, contestants can be heard on the recording laughing and talking loudly. One of the hosts described the scene in the room as "jovial," leading the group that started with 20 contestants in toasts each time they drank another bottle.

Contestant Jennifer Winsor said Strange was stoic when others complained of having to go to the bathroom. "She was kind of quiet and stood back," Winsor said. "She was very self-assured and exuded confidence."

Winsor said she drank nine of the 16-ounce bottles and saw Strange drink a 10th — a total of 224 ounces of water, or nearly two gallons. She said she was bothered to learn that DJs knew the contest might be hazardous.

Strange told friends she had entered the contest to win a new Nintendo Wii video-gaming system for her children.

After Strange dropped out of the contest about 9:30 a.m. and left the studio, she called a co-worker saying she had changed her plan to go into work at Radiological Associates. She cried, and said she had a headache and felt dizzy. Another co-worker asked Strange's mother to check on her.

Strange's mother found her dead in her Rancho Cordova home around 2 p.m. "

[x_itchy_b_x]

she lost more than the contest... i dont hold the radio station accountable but in our society its always some one else's fault. sad though. maybe she should have researched what she was getting into. i dont know really... sad though.

[JonMarkos]

I hope her tickets didn't go to waste.

[lagos]

i dont think people realize that drinking too much water could kill you.

[jdg371]

i dont think people realize that drinking too much water could kill you.

I one of them.

[99GTauto]

Another sad point of interest is that there isn't a shortage of Nintendo Wiis in Sacramento either...

P.S.: All the morning shows in Sacto are lame with the SINGLE exception being Rob Arnie and Dawn in the Morning on 98.5.

This post has been edited by 99GTauto: Jan 18, 2007 - 12:31 AM

[forkee]

stupid people deserve to die, im sorry to say but its true. too much of anything, no matter how insignificant it may seem, is still a bad thing. im going to school as a nurse and the first thing i learned off the bat was that we cannot give oxygen without a doctor's order, and we damn well better know if we can or cannot give water because that could be hazardous as well.

on a side note...i like how the "related links" below the thread say "culligan water systems", "distilled water delivery", and "puronics water softeners", lol

[azian_advanced]

i'd say the radio show is not to blame.. contestants should be entering the contests at their own risk..
one would think that the water she drank would 'leave her urinary system' before death..

[Rayme]

stupid people deserve to die, im sorry to say but its true. too much of anything, no matter how insignificant it may seem, is still a bad thing. im going to school as a nurse and the first thing i learned off the bat was that we cannot give oxygen without a doctor's order, and we damn well better know if we can or cannot give water because that could be hazardous as well.

on a side note...i like how the "related links" below the thread say "culligan water systems", "distilled water delivery", and "puronics water softeners", lol

Well Im pretty sure her kids would ratter have a stupid mom than no mom at all!

[Hanyo]

i'd say the radio show is not to blame.. contestants should be entering the contests at their own risk..
one would think that the water she drank would 'leave her urinary system' before death..

the water does leave her system before death... The problem is, it takes everything else with it. The salt and other chemicals needed for brain function.

[hitcachi]

lol, what an idiot.