Police Probe Death After Radio Contest

[Guest alsfirefighter]

Just another reminder you can't fix stupid

Police Probe Death After Radio Contest

By JULIET WILLIAMS

AP

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Jan. 18) - As participants in KDND-FM's water-drinking contest chugged bottle after bottle, a listener called in to warn the disc jockeys that the stunt could be fatal.

"Yeah, we're aware of that," one of them responded.

Another DJ said with a laugh: "Yeah, they signed releases, so we're not responsible. We're OK."

Those comments, and others made during the Jan. 12 "Morning Rave" radio show, appeared to give little regard to the risk of water intoxication. But just hours after the contest, a woman who guzzled nearly two gallons was dead.

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.

The county coroner said preliminary autopsy findings indicate Strange, a 28-year-old mother of three, died of water intoxication.

Show Tapes Released

Authorities decided to pursue the investigation after listening to a tape of the show, obtained by The Sacramento Bee, during which DJs joked about the possible dangers of consuming too much water, sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran said. At one point, the DJs even alluded to a college student who died during a similar stunt in 2005.

Strange was one of about 18 contestants who tried to win a Nintendo Wii gaming console by determining how much water they could drink without going to the bathroom.

Several hours into the contest, Strange was interviewed on the air and complained that her head hurt.

"They keep telling me that it's the water. That it will tell my head to hurt and then it will make me puke," she said.

Eventually, Strange gave in and accepted the second-place prize: tickets to a Justin Timberlake concert. She commented that she looked pregnant, and a female DJ agreed.

"Oh, my gosh, look at that belly. That's full of water. ... Come on over, Jennifer, you OK?" a male DJ asked. "You going to pass out right now? Too much water?"

Strange was found dead in her home.

On Tuesday, KDND's parent company, Entercom/Sacramento, fired 10 employees connected to the contest, including three morning disc jockeys. The company also took the morning show off the air.

Station spokesman Charles Sipkins said Wednesday the company had not yet heard from the sheriff's department but that it would cooperate with the investigation.

[Guest]

water intoxication....rough way to go :X

[trauma74 111]

I have heard about intoxication by water........I always thought that one would have to drink several gallons of water in order for this to happen?

[IzzyEng4 427]

Basically she drowned in her on body fluids by not going to the bathroom. DUmb Dumb Dumb, and I'm glad those jerks at the radio station got fired, 11 of them. Now they might be facing criminal charges.

[Guest]

Trauma, thats what i thought as well. I had heard of this in only 1 other instances. It was a college student who was being hazed by a frat and after the celebrations the student basically sat under a 5 gallon igloo cooler and drank himself to death (with water). Its got to take a few gallons to dilute your blood and deplete your body's resources of calcium/sodium.

[Remember585 815]

I know of a guy we used to transport from time to time who was considered allergic to water. He would drink it and it would cause him to appear intoxicated. True story.

[x635 4,066]

The water intoxication issue came to national public attention just a few years ago, after a couple of runners competing in the Boston Marathon died from water intoxication from over-hydrating.

Some of these radio stations go too far with their "stunts". Hopefully, this will set a precedent for this nonsense to stop.

[ryefd192 2]

I always heard of it happening to kids who took extasy, since they say the drug causes increased thirst.

[Guest alsfirefighter]

How much water it takes depends on your body. In addition to the increase amounts of water in your system, the kidneys back up as the bladder fills and the increased fluid has nowhere to go. Often you will vomit any additional water in your stomach, but she apparantly didn't. The resultant fluid shift as well creates havoc in your system. Too much fluid without proper electrolyte balances cause extreme fluid shifts. The result is often brain swelling, and you can also suffer acute cardiogenic shock and pulmonary edema. The Pulmonary edema does take time and in a healthy person may not show at all.

Sad story. Idiots and a woman whom had probably good intentions without knowing the risk.

Where's the guy talking about "Reckless endangerment" with the Empire State Building. This could easily be deemed that if the consent form did not spell out the risks of all that water. Go in for surgery and listen to that speech of risks. Then again even with the consent form, you can still sue they use those to take the edge off of 'routine' risks.