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Posted by: SOT

SACRAMENTO, California (AP) -- A woman who competed in a radio station's contest to see how much water she could drink without going to the bathroom died of water intoxication, the coroner's office said Saturday.

Jennifer Strange, 28, was found dead Friday in her suburban Rancho Cordova home hours after taking part in the "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest in which KDND 107.9 promised a Nintendo Wii video game system for the winner.

"She said to one of our supervisors that she was on her way home and her head was hurting her real bad," said Laura Rios, one of Strange's co-workers at Radiological Associates of Sacramento. "She was crying, and that was the last that anyone had heard from her."

It was not immediately known how much water Strange consumed.

A preliminary investigation found evidence "consistent with a water intoxication death," said assistant Coroner Ed Smith.

John Geary, vice president and marketing manager for Entercom Sacramento, the station's owner, said station personnel were stunned when they heard of Strange's death.

"We are awaiting information that will help explain how this tragic event occurred," he said.

Initially, contestants were handed 8-ounce bottles of water to drink every 15 minutes.

"They were small little half-pint bottles, so we thought it was going to be easy," said fellow contestant James Ybarra of Woodland. "They told us if you don't feel like you can do this, don't put your health at risk."

Ybarra said he quit after drinking five bottles. "My bladder couldn't handle it anymore," he added.

After he quit, he said, the remaining contestants, including Strange, were given even bigger bottles to drink.

"I was talking to her and she was a nice lady," Ybarra said. "She was telling me about her family and her three kids and how she was doing it for her kids."

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Posted by: j809

Sad, when we went through the academy, they stopped forcing us drinking water because of this potential problem. They said drink when you are thirsty but no more forced drinking. Something to do with the salt in the body, etc.

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Posted by: justanotherparatrooper

most people DONT believe its possible, after all how can water kill you?

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Posted by: kttref

That radio station is screwed. That's seriously a shame.

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Posted by: KozmoKramer

If I hadn't read this thread I would have never thought that was possible.

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Posted by: CJIS

Quote:

Originally Posted by KozmoKramer If I hadn't read this thread I would have never thought that was possible.

Happens more than you would think

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Posted by: Nachtwächter

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/e...cle/000394.htm

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Posted by: kttref

Happens almost every football season (between high school, college, pro)...it's surprising actually how often it happens.

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Posted by: NewEngland2007

I thought this was common knowledge? Well, it should be.

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Posted by: USMCMP5811

God how I hated being forced to drink water in boot camp......I swear them sadistic DI's i had did it just to make me have to pee but would deny me a head call till I was just about to burst.....

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Posted by: radio2526

those under the influence of ecstacy tend to have this problem due to their thirst being impossible to quench

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Posted by: Nachtwächter

Sheriff looks into water-drinking death

By JULIET WILLIAMS, Associated Press Writer 5 minutes ago

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.
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?"
Several hours later, 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.

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Posted by: Boss173

A Washington, DC Metro police officer died in 2005 from drinking too much water during a training exercise

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Posted by: justanotherparatrooper

course now its not HER FAULT and she did have CHILDREN so someone else must be responsible (chaching!!!)

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Posted by: Stevec

This started to happen allot it collage. Since so many people were dying of alcohol poising during fraternity hazing rituals, they moved to water. People found out very quickly this was just as deadly.

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