Radio Station Contest: Water Intoxication Death

D

DocRobot_K-176

Red Raging Rampage
Member
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6164325.html

Emma Boyes said:
The death of a 28-year-old woman who entered a California radio station contest to "Hold your wee for a Wii," has become the basis of a criminal investigation, reports Reuters.

Jennifer Strange, who lived in Rancho Cordova, had been trying to win one of Nintendo's new consoles for her kids. During the competition, which challenged contestants to drink as much water as they could without going to the bathroom, she got through an estimated two gallons of water.

After the radio show, she called in sick to work, and was later found dead at her suburban home by her mother. The initial findings of the coroner said the death appeared to be consistent with water intoxication.

Initially, County Sheriff John McGinness had said that there were no plans to open a criminal investigation, since Ms. Strange had entered the contest on her own free will.

But in audio recordings which have been posted on the Internet, the DJs are heard joking about contestants dying of water intoxication, even referencing the death of Matthew Carrington, a student who died after drinking too much water during a fraternity hazing. A caller, who identified herself as Eva, also phoned in to the show to warn that the stunt could kill, but she was dismissed by being told that contestants had "signed releases, so we're not responsible."

In light of the new information from the audio tapes, an investigation has been launched, stated a spokesperson for the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department.

Sgt. Timothy Curran said, "We have decided we will open a death investigation which will take weeks and on conclusion our findings will be forwarded to the local district attorney to decide whether to lay criminal charges."

KDND 107.9 has also fired 10 staff, including five on-air personalities, over the incident, as part of its own investigation.
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This event is local to my area. Rancho Cordova is only about 30 minutes away from where I live. I think this is a terrible lesson to be learned; 10 DJs now no longer have a job due to their lack of common sense about this matter, and a family now no longer has a mother. The fact that these DJs were informed of the dangers by a nurse, a professional, and they overlooked the danger just indicates how uninformed and reckless they were in carrying out this contest.

What are your thoughts about this disaster?
 
It is terrible. I didn't know it was possible to die from drinking too much water.
 
Well... they say that too much of anything is bad for you. I am just shocked that the DJs overlooked (intentionally or unintentionally) the dangers of conducting this contest. The fact that they harassed contestants (even in a joking way) likens this sort of activity to hazing. Peer pressure can be dangerous at times and can cause people to behave in ways that they would not normally behave otherwise.
 
Why would someone want to do this. Why would you want to kill somone for fun. It's just really, really wrong. Those DJ's should never be listened to again.

DRK has anything sort of like this ever happened on that show beofer?
 
And the radio station people aren't held responsible how? Releases don't cut it when the people don't know what they're getting into IMO. -________-

Arcanine out.
 
I heard about this on the news and the person drank 2 gallons of water so she could try to win a Wii for her son and one of the announcers was concerned what would happen if she did that and the other kept on making fun of her concerns and about 10 employees were fired and the morning show was cancelled but have not heard anything more about it though.:)
 
Well I hate to do this, but I disagree with all your post to some degree. Yes the DJ's where irresponible in conducting such a silly game; however, no one forced her to conduct herself in this manner. She was a fool in her own right. If she signed a release then that alone should bring forth suggestion of physical harm. I mean you don't sign a release to pet puppies. But you do sign a release to swim with sharks. I think we will find that yes these guys are idiots, but she is one too. No charges will be brought against them. In America (for now) it's not against the law to be a moron. I mean look at Nancy Grace!!

I wonder if water intoxication hurts? After all it usually results with your cells rupturing from being filled beyond capacity.
 
Nancy grace is one of those people who puts on an act like she did on jiopardy last year and she has been doing it for a very looooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggg time too.:)
 
PickachuWithPointyFangs said:
Well I hate to do this, but I disagree with all your post to some degree. Yes the DJ's where irresponible in conducting such a silly game; however, no one forced her to conduct herself in this manner. She was a fool in her own right. If she signed a release then that alone should bring forth suggestion of physical harm. I mean you don't sign a release to pet puppies. But you do sign a release to swim with sharks. I think we will find that yes these guys are idiots, but she is one too. No charges will be brought against them. In America (for now) it's not against the law to be a moron. I mean look at Nancy Grace!!

I wonder if water intoxication hurts? After all it usually results with your cells rupturing from being filled beyond capacity.
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Actually, there is more blame on the DJs than on Strange, IMO. You are right; she did make the decision to participate in the contest in the first place. However, many people do not realize that drinking excessive amounts of water can lead to water intoxication. The DJ's recognized the danger, but failed to effectively communicate that it was a risk involved in the contest. In fact, they made jokes about it on the radio, on top of coercing the contestants, essentially turning the contest into hazing, even when they were informed by a professional that the danger was serious. They carried out the contest and didn't care what would happen, otherwise, they would have stopped it, or not have done it in the first place.

I do not like contests that puts one past their limits, whether it be a contest to see who stays awake the longest, eats the most chili peppers, eats the most stinging nettle leaves, or drinks the most water and holds it the longest; they are all dangerous. A signed release can only do so much; the contestants merely acknowledge that there is elevated risk involved. However, if the people holding the contest do not adequately communicate the dangers or otherwise take precautions in case of an emergency, they should be held accountable for their actions.
 
The DJ's shouldn't have been fired. Seriously who knows about water-intoxication, It's bull that they get fired for something they or 99% of the US even know about. They shouldn't of lost their jobs but I would of quit myself anyway since it looks bad. Though bottom line is that, They arn't for blame at all it's like blaming a store for letting you purchase too much alcohol and drinking yourself to death. She entered the contest not knowing the risk or anyone else for that matter but it's her own fault she did it on free will.

IB out.
 
ItalianBlock said:
The DJ's shouldn't have been fired.  Seriously who knows about water-intoxication, It's bull that they get fired for something they or 99% of the US even know about.  They shouldn't of lost their jobs but I would of quit myself anyway since it looks bad.  Though bottom line is that,  They aren't for blame at all it's like blaming a store for letting you purchase too much alcohol and drinking yourself to death.  She entered the contest not knowing the risk or anyone else for that matter but it's her own fault she did it on free will.

IB out.
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When you hold a contest that involves with putting a large amount of any substance into your body system, you have to do your homework. You DO NOT leave anything up to chance that has the ability to hurt someone, and in this case-kill. And, obviously, they should've listened to the nurse, and others who called in warnings. A release does not cut it in my opinion.

Arcanine out.
 
Arcanine 274 said:
ItalianBlock said:
The DJ's shouldn't have been fired. Seriously who knows about water-intoxication, It's bull that they get fired for something they or 99% of the US even know about. They shouldn't of lost their jobs but I would of quit myself anyway since it looks bad. Though bottom line is that, They aren't for blame at all it's like blaming a store for letting you purchase too much alcohol and drinking yourself to death. She entered the contest not knowing the risk or anyone else for that matter but it's her own fault she did it on free will.

IB out.
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When you hold a contest that involves with putting a large amount of any substance into your body system, you have to do your homework. You DO NOT leave anything up to chance that has the ability to hurt someone, and in this case-kill. And, obviously, they should've listened to the nurse, and others who called in warnings. A release does not cut it in my opinion.

Arcanine out.
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I am glad they fired them because they should have not held the contest in the first place and they should be charged with murder because they set up the contest to see how many people would do it and then they laughed it off and the radio station should have gotten a $5,00,000 fine and be in jail for murder and they put out releases so they could not be charged, Oh if you want me to add you to my buddy list I will be more than happy to do it ok.:)
 
I know that is why I want to see them charged for murder and their radio station be fined for holding that contest.:)
 
Update: This is on the Wii news channel if you guys want more, but I think Doc has explained it enough.

How to get to it:
1. Go to News Channel and click any news section.
2. Then try and get to the world map.
3. Go under Sacremento, California, and you should see it with a women crying.
 
m0nster1nc said:
They wouldn't be charged for murder, they'll be charged for negligent homicide.
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It is murder because the set up the contest and it killed the people that enetered the contest and that is called murder.:)
 
Yeah your right but the radio station should have know that would happen because they were flooded from the water in their system.:)
 
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