OZZYGT
Premium
- 3,716
- NYC
- OZZYGT
Has the Wii claimed it's first victim? What would you do for a Wii? (or a 'W 2' as I heard someone calling it the other day...)
wikipedia articleOn January 12, 2007, Jennifer Strange, a 28-year-old woman from Rancho Cordova, California, was found dead in her home by her mother hours after trying to win a game console in KDND 107.9 "The End" radio station's "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest, which involved drinking large quantities of water without urinating. Every 15 minutes contestants were given a bottle of water to drink. It was reported that original amounts were very small (250 mL, 8 fl. oz.) and the bottle size increased as contestants progressed. On January 15 the radio station suspended the show, and the following day John Geary, vice president and general manager of KDND's parent company, Entercom/Sacramento, fired the three hosts of KDND-FM's "Morning Rave" (Trish, Maney, and Lukas) and seven other employees, two of which were the On-Air personalities "Carter" and "Fester". The "Morning Rave" had been on the air for about five years and was one of the capital's top-ranked morning drive programs. In all, according to witness reports, Strange may have drunk nearly two gallons. Afterward, she appeared ill when she went on the air, one contestant said. Following the contest, Strange called in sick to work. About five hours later she was found dead at her home. In the studio, Ybarra said Strange showed fellow contestants photographs of her two sons and daughter, for whom she was hoping to win the Wii. The game console retails for about $250. Gina Sherrod, who competed with Strange in the contest, said her family listened to the radio show, and told her that a nurse was on air warning that drinking too much water is dangerous. Sherrod said a DJ rebuffed the nurse, saying the contestants signed waivers, however it was later reported these waivers addressed only publicity issues and did not mention health or safety concerns. Sherrod said she had no idea what risk she had taken until she saw news of Strange's death.
California laws are rather weak in regards to recognizing the validity of signed waivers. There have been several high profile cases out of the California courts where defendants had so-called rock-solid waivers, that were disregarded by the courts.APJennifer Strange, mother of three, died after participating in 107.9 KDNDs Morning Rave Hold Your Wii For A Wii contest. The cause of death was water intoxication; she is believed to have drank up to two gallons of water without urinating in order to win a Nintendo Wii.
Law enforcement is now investigation to see if any laws were broken. From KCRA.com:
The Sacramento County Sheriffs Department and Sacramento County District Attorneys Office are launching an investigation in the death of Jennifer Strange, who was found dead in her home after taking part in a radio station water-drinking contest.
It would appear that the radio hosts were fully aware of the dangers of the Nintendo Wii contest, but did not seem to care about a possible serious outcome.
From a transcript of the show:
Listener: I want to say that those people drinking all that water can get sick and die from water intoxication.
DJ: Yeah, were aware of that.
DJ: Yeah, they signed releases so, were not responsible, its OK. (laughter) If they get to the point where they have to throw up, then theyre going to throw up and then theyre out of the contest before they die, so thats good, right?
On Tuesday, KDNDs parent company, Entercom/Sacramento, fired 10 employees connected to the contest, including three morning disc jockeys. Additionally, the company took the morning show off the air completely.
I'm not normally a supporter of personal injury law suits, but the fact that they admitted to knowing the risk, didn't provide medical assistance, and she would not have died had she received medical attention, then I guess I hope they throw the book at them.