Wii contest DJs joked that water could kill

A local sheriff now says he's investigating the death of a 28-year-old mother of three who died after a radio station's "Hold your wee for a Wii" contest:

• In an online recording of the show, the DJs can be heard making comments joking about people dying from water intoxication, even discussing a case in Northern California two years ago in which student Matthew Carrington, 21, died after drinking too much water during a fraternity stunt.
• One of the DJs even admitted they maybe should have done some research before the contest.
• One female caller, who identified herself as Eva, also phoned in to warn the radio station that drinking too much water can kill.

Hat tip to reader blondie2hot7!

Comments

[onetime]

ooooooooh. Somebodies in trouble.

[blondie2hot7]

I knew there had to be more to this story.. I don't really place 100% of the blame on the station, a nurse did tell them that this could cause death.. But, for the DJ's to admitt they should of checked into this more before doing the stupid contest, that will make them liable.

[Kelly]

Exactly. It's all fun and games until SOMEONE DIES!!

[Michael]

Yet another case of somebody taking no responsibility for their actions. Yes, it is tragic that Mrs. Strange died, but the DJ's did not force the water down her throat against her will. She drank the water, she signed the waiver. But of course, it's not HER fault.

[G]

Yes, it is her fault Michael...but she's dead. Watcha wanna do, put her corpse in prison?

The DJ's also bear personal responsibility...for being idiots. I don't think they should be brought up on murder charges, but the loss of their jobs and some public humiliation is good start on a just punishment.

[Kelly]

I couldn't agree more, G. I mean - I thought they should have been held accountable when I thought they weren't aware of the danger, but to find out that they knew about the danger and even joked about it and received warning calls on the matter - that's just complete disregard on their part.

[blondie2hot7]

G & kelly: I agree with you both. The employes shouldn't be charged with murder, but being stupid and trying to get a "better" ratings, they should be publicly humiliated.

Shock jocks = idiots

[Scott]

People still listen to the pablum that is FM radio?

[G]

I'm rarely sent to dictionary.com....but Scott did it:

pablum. - trite, naive, or simplistic ideas or writings; intellectual pap.

Very nice. Love 10 cent words used in proper context.

[blondie2hot7]

scott: Not I.. That's why I'm thankful for CD's

[nimrod]

Sounds like a Johnny Dare stunt. That guy still on the radio?

[All n A Days Work]

A waiver is only good if it states the possiblities of what can happen to you during a contest (ie, research), which apparently nobody at the station bothered to do. The waiver that everybody signed is not worth the paper it was written on. If you hold a contest and there are some dangers, it must be spelled out in the release of liability waiver otherwise, no deal.

I work for an insurance company, trust me I know. Just because you have someones signature does not mean you aren't liable. The radio station became liable when they fired the DJs. The course of action spelled out, we are guilty. Any jury will award damages to the children. But, the radio station is proably going to settle out of court.

And for them to be on the air, laughing and taunting the contestants, thinking that this is something funny. They could have very well saved this woman's life if they had just researched the affects of drinking that much water at once.

[blondie2hot7]

all in a days: I wonder if the family (children) would possibly get any type of restitution from the employes that concoucted this stupid contest? After all, they were the ones that arranged it.

[All n A Days Work]

The radio station owner will be the one who pays out. They have liability insurance, how much is the question. I would settle if I were the station owner. If it makes it to court, it will become a sympathy case, for the kids sake, and a jury usually awards high judements for those kind of cases. They'd better settle if they are smart.

[monty]

STOP THE MADNESS!!! Kelly..Blondie..G please join me in saving the world.First we will stop hot dog and pie eating contests.When our work there is done we will move on to beer busts and all you can eat Chinese buffets.I have more but I am getting emotional and cannot continue.I'll print up fliers and we can meet at Mill Creek Park Saturday morn.Remember we CAN make a difference.

[Frank (Biker DJ Ireland)]

It will now be up to the Surgeon General to place warning lables on bottled water as they do with cigarettes and alcohol.

[reade]

so i guess they better not have a "ok, everyone jump off a cliff" contest, the station will be in big trouble then.

[G]

I have no vested interest in saving the world...

[blondie2hot7]

reade: Theres no doubt in my mind if a station held such a contest, there would be participants, why? Who knows.

Will it make the station or the employes conducting the contest liable? Yes
Two stupids don't make a genius.
If you have something to sell, you will always have a buyer

[mckayvo]

I'm not sure if it makes the situation better or worse that they talked about possible dangers. Ten people were fired from the station yesterday and the wrongful death suit has already been filed.

[Vibiana]

Her kids are better off. Just think, if she'd won they'd have gotten a Wii. Now they'll get a whole radio station. :D

[stac]

They did not sign a liability waiver. The only waiver signed by these contestants was giving the right to use their names, faces and likeness in the future.

[jamie]

And news reports say the "waiver" signed had NOTHING to do with the contest dangers - only that their voice could be used on the air!

[blondie2hot7]

mckavvo: Either way, they did wrong and new it. Thank goodness for radio stations having recorded and stored recordings of shows.

This was a stupid contest, so in my opinion, the people who owned the station, or conducted the contest (who are suppose to be knowledgeable) should of said "No way are we going to put ourselves in a situation like this, if you want to do this, do it at YOUR house, not at the station."

I don't think there would of been as many participants.. No fame, no shame, no blame.

[jamie]

Dang it - stac beat me to it!! LOL

[blondie2hot7]

jamie: In previous stories on this, the participants did sign waivers, one story even said a nurse forewarned the people of potential water "intoxication." I believe they went in fully aware of what happend, and then the "recordings" surfaced.

Either way, there would of been a law suit, without the recording, it would of just took longer. Now, it may open the door to the other participants to file a law suit stating the radio station intentionally put their lives in danger.

[lenrod]

What I find interesting are all the people who are totally uneducated about the dangers of water poisoning or intoxication.

The recordings are appalling and in one that I have heard the radio station jocks are offering the poor woman (now at home and obviously in extreme pain) Justin Timberlake tickets for that evening. Like that will ease her suffering.

Justin Timberlake? Hadn't she been through enough?

[The DB]

It was an Entercom station...does that surprise anyone?

[T-Devil]

LenRod-

You know you listen to JT!

[jessilizzi]

It's not the mother's fault for trying to do this for her children. You'd be suprised by the number of people who hadn't heard of water intoxication before!! True, she should have read the disclaimer & perhaps stopped when she started feeling ill but overall, the radio station & DJ's are responsible. Also, they never mention in the story if Ms.Strange won?? If not, I'm sure her children will be getting enough payout from the law suit that is sure to come that they could each buy their won Wii. It may seem crazy to some people - but some parents are willing to go to extreme lengths to make their kids happy and I think that's just what this woman was trying to do. Such a sad story. ..

[G]

Yes, it IS the mother's fault for doing this for her children. It's incredibly poor parenting, sets a horrible example, sends an awful message, and it's just plain stupid.

Oh, and it's lethal. There's that aspect of it too.

[Tam]

That's kind of where I was leaning on this story. The mother was setting an example of "it's ok to do crazy things, get some laughs, have some fun, all for a Wii." Doesn't seem like this was well thought out on her part.
Maybe a college student would be prone to this behavior/stunt... but a mother of three?

[The G]

wow, entercom is getting sued left and right...they just settled a multi-million dollar lawsuit for accepting payment from record companies to play artists in the overnights to boost their number of play times to raise their poll positions

[Jtrain]

Entercom just settled a lawsuit last month for 4 and a half million on charges they took money for playing songs on the radio (payola). Now they have to deal with this. Not good.

[Faith]

G, you're being ridiculous. Back away from the computer and breath a little bit. Jeez.

The woman was trying to do something fun in order to hopefully win something that would make her kids happy, which in turn would make her happy, I'm sure, and didn't think in the least about the possibility of the contest being harmful to her. Water seems safe, you know? It's not like they were asking people to consume lighter fluid, or something.

I would think that the radio station could have planned this better, is all. Knowing that water intoxication is possible is one thing. They refered to a specific incident that happened two years ago, and that should have been enough for them to have guidelines for the intake of water in place. I don't see why they didn't have their contestants drink something like three 8 oz bottles of water in the course of 3 or 4 minutes, and then see how long they could hold it. I don't understand why people GORGED themselves with water in order to stress their bladders...it doesn't take much, especially if you have an empty stomach!

Anyway, this was a horrible accident for which the radio station should be held accountable. People seem to forget that people in their 20's (even their late 20's!) can make poor decisions based on a lack of information. The girl wasn't thinking, "Oh, I wonder if I should check to see if drinking some water can kill me before I do this..." She was thinking about doing something silly to win a prize for her family. I'm sure there are plenty of 30, 40, and 50 year olds out there that were unaware of the dangers of water intoxication as well!

Tam, I'm not sure where you got the idea that a mother of 3 (who's only 28, no less) should be more on the ball than a college student, but more power to you if you think that's how society works. My twin is a mother of two who's 32 years old, and she didn't really start to make good decisions about her life until a couple of years ago! Not everyone matures at the same rate, folks. Der.

[Voice O Reason]

Well, if the DJ's were discussing the possibility of death on the air... I am no expert on Radio Broadcasts on location or in the studio... But I thought generally they broadcast their show on speakers so that everyone nearby can here the show... including the lady drinking the water.

Just a thought.

[Mike W]

What we have here is proof of Darwin's theory - Natural Selection.

[Tam]

Faith, ignorance is not justification for poor decision making.

[blondie2hot7]

Depending on which news paper you read, one story said the contestants WERE told about water intoxication, the DJ's were talking about a case 2 years ago where a fraternity person died from doing the exact same thing, some lady named "Eva" called in to reiterate the dangers etc.

The stations theory was "We must let the show go on."

In my opinion, the contestant's, after hearing of the tragic possibilites, should of said "NO thank you, I'll get another job and figure out how to get one of those Wii's" or and the radio station should of said "We do not need to do risk peoples live's to get ratings."

The station own's the majority of the responsibility, the people participating, they own some of it too. Tragedies like this happen, and I don't think young people are more apt to do it than older people. They didn't tell the ages, but they did say the girl that died was in 2nd place and the woman that won the Wii was in the bathroom with her right after the contest throwing their guts up.. Unfortunately, this particular woman died. It was a lose/lose situation.

[TR]

Everybody is assuming what the wavier may or may not have stated and what the contestants might or might not have heard.
Remember what happens when you assume!!

Personally once my bladder gets full there is no holding it I would have had to make a mad dash to the bathroom period. I don't see how these people didn't wet themselves before it got that bad.

[Kent P]

I am having a jelly bean eating contest at work on Friday. Anybody care to challenge me?

[Faith]

"Faith, ignorance is not justification for poor decision making." - Tam

I didn't say it was, Tam. But one must admit, ignorance can be a large cause of poor decision making. You seem to give a bunch of credence to the idea that this woman should have known better simply because she was a mother of 3 children. I know I might not have mentioned this before, but stupid/unintelligent/uninformed/uneducated (whatever you want to call them) people have children all the time! Crazy, eh? I know, I know...it's hard to believe. But I can assure you, it's true.

In my previous comment, I also made a point to mention that not everyone knows about the dangers of ingesting too much water. Perhaps the registered nurse who called in to the show to warn about the dangers of what they were doing called in well after the "game" had begun. Perhaps Jennifer (i.e. the woman that died) was too far gone at that point to know what was happening. Who knows how quickly the effects of the "intoxication" took place in her system? From what was mentioned today in the paper about it, it sounded as though the effects occured relatively quickly, making her appear pregnant and giving her a nasty headache right off the bat. I wonder why the DJ's didn't think twice about this, and look into whether they should get her some medical attention?

[The Zipper]

Is there even a chance that there is a bigger idiot in the whole world than MONTY? No there is not......by the way, the guy is always trying to unzip my zipper with his teeth.

[The Zipper]

let me answer a question before I ask it.

answer: NO
Question: is ther a bigger Ahole than monty anywhere on the planet earth?

[blondie2hot7]

zipper: Did monty by chance throw something on here I missed? Other than the stupid remark he made earlier (that I didn't reply to) I don't see anything stupid he's said lately.

And your answer is correct!

[stella]

Does anyone know the name of these djs? why are they being protected with anonymity? I've not heard their names said one time on any news broadcast. Maybe I have just missed it.

I feel pain for this woman's young family. What a terrible and avoidable tragedy. Dangers of water intoxication are not at all intuitively obvious as compared with say the perceived risk of an alcohol drinking contest. For the DJs to laugh about a recent death from a scenario nearly identical to that which they were perpetuating ... I don't understand either they also did not understand the risks or were knowingly risking these lives. To have then been informed on air, apparently by a nurse, they what they were doing was potentially fatal and to continue makes little sense. When this woman complained of feeling ill, in studio, a single phone call for an ambulance might likely have saved her life. A signed release does not exculpate one from setting up a game of Russian Roulette. How could the DJs so blithely dismiss these dangers that they joked about? "yeah we're aware of it" they are reported as telling the caller who reiterated that they might kill someone. It leaves one speechless. Of course they must not have truly believed there was any real danger and now they have to live with it and three children don't have their mother. What a horrible tragedy.

[Thomas Kirby]

The woman who drank the water was not a responsible adult who was responsible for her own actions?

[I Wanna Slap The Corpse]

Did this white trash chick ever think of just saying to her kids, "NO..They are too expensive. You can't have one! Period!" It's just another example of "child-cult worship".

[Josh]

There's a site dedicated to Jennifer and raising awareness for water intoxication, this should NEVER happen again!

http://waterintoxication.org

[CJ]

So did she get the Wii posthumously?

[All n A Days Work]

Water Intoxification is nothing NEW, people. And it is the Radio stations fault. Anytime you conduct a contest, you better make sure its not harmful to anyone involved. PERIOD!! The station owner, 9 times out of 10, didn't even know this contest was taking place. There are too many middle men in the middle. And, the PROMO manager should have done their job and researched this event.

[All n A Days Work]

And all the contestants who were interviewed has already said that they did not hear any of the comments made by callers, during the contest. Noone from the station told they anything about the dangers of water intoxification.

[All n A Days Work]

That whole PROMO department should be fired. And....They probably were since 10 people got fired.

[Great Dane]

The woman who died recieved the second place prize. what happened to the first place winner why did they not die of water intoxication?

[Great Dane]

that wasn't a rhetorical question if anyone is still responding to this blog.

[Water Boy]

Here's my view:

I think the station is still liable for her death even thought they signed a waiver. If the DJ's were truly aware of the dangers involved, then sufficient and competent medical staff should have been at the ready to recognize symptoms and treat them properly. The contest holders should have provided the medical staff for the contestants. I have not seen any mention of medical staff being on site, so if there has been I apologize. But it seems the contest holders were negligent.

[TR]

"I wanna slap the corpse"
To call someone you don't even know white trash just shows what a moron you are. (White trash doesn't work, what is the purpose of even classifying that she is white, are you?) Not every knows about water intoxication those that didn't would assume that once your blatter got completely full you would pee or throw up. Just because she worked at a radiology facility doesn't mean that she had any medical schooling. You don't need a medical degree to operate the equipment; you just need training on the machine. Those who read the results do need medical training.

The "station" knew of the risk and made fun of the contestants, then purposely made sure that the contestants couldn't hear their comments. When she said she wasn't feeling well why didn't they get her medical attention instead of pressuring her to stay in the contest!!

I have read your comment on other blogs and in my book you need to get off your “I’m smarter and better than everyone else” pedestal and learn to have some compassion for others. If this were one of your family members or friends you would be singing a different tune.