Mother of 3 dies trying to win a Nintendo Wii

[Lightyear]

I don't think the radio statio, the show, or whomever involved should be held responsible. Sad as it is yes, she took the risk by partaking in a competion that she I'm sure legaly agreed too.

I agree with the general census. Stupid thing to do for a Wii.

I feel bad for her kids for losing a parent, I do not feel sorry for her for being simple minded.

[Loomis]

Wii-contest radio station fires 10 staff

http://au.gamespot.com/news/6164262.htm ... ws;title;0

A California radio station has fired 10 employees, including five on-air personalities, after Jennifer Strange, a mother of three, died following her participation in a "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" competition, reports the Sacramento Bee.

_______________________

Loomis says: I don't think this goes far enough. It is punishing the radio station people, who were incredibly irresponsible but the buck does not stop with them. The higher-ups would have had to answer for it, and it ignores the culture that contributed to this behaviour in the first place.

And I often wonder why I've given up on society...

[xxhplinkxx]

Nice to know how it turned out.

[Ting Ting]

According to my local news station, the show that the contest was held on is no longer going to air. It was also said that before the contest started, a nurse called up the station and warned them that these contestants could get very sick and/or die from drinking that much water so quickly. The guy on the radio responded with, "We had them sign a waiver, so we're okay."

That's a real shame.

[slave2moonlight]

I hate to say it, but I doubt much of the general public even knows that too much water is bad for them. In fact, we are pretty much indoctrinated with just the opposite idea from our childhoods on. We usually don't learn something like that until we hear about a death on the news, and you can't blame people for that kind of ignorance. The radio folks definitely should be held responsible, but even though they made contestants sign a waver, I doubt they even knew it was dangerous either. However, they were the ones putting on the contest, so they should have known enough to look into it before holding such a contest. The general contestant should be able to rely on the assumption that a contest to win a video game system won't be life-threatening, waver or not. She most likely thought that the worst that might happen would be having a pee accident.

[2099net]

According to my local news station, the show that the contest was held on is no longer going to air. It was also said that before the contest started, a nurse called up the station and warned them that these contestants could get very sick and/or die from drinking that much water so quickly. The guy on the radio responded with, "We had them sign a waiver, so we're okay."

That's a real shame.

No, its not a shame. It's disgusting.

I don't blame the woman at all. I don't see how anyone can. As people have pointed out, nobody can know everything.

But when you do something like this, be it a silly stunt on a radio show, or if you're an actor doing your own stunt in a film or television show, you trust the organisers to have looked into the potential problems and okayed it. It's their responsibility to provide health and safety. I'm sure she signed the waiver expecting a doctor to be on hand etc.

[Just Myself]

First off, everyone ease off of Escapay. He stated a fact, jeez.

Second, while I'm sorry the mother died, I really honestly can't care how she did it. That woman (and all the other participants for that matter) was an idiot. Why are people going through such great lengths for Wii's and PS3's? I got both of mine from Target just by showing up at the right place, at the right time. No tickets, no lines, just went to the electronics counter and bought them. (BTW I got a PS3 three days ago... Ended up forfeiting my allowance for a year, plus the first five paychecks of my summer job [pending I get one], but it was worth it. )

Cheers,
JM

[Zoltack]

Yeah I'm starting to save up my money so I can get a PS3 for my 21st birthday (April 26, 2007). But most of that money is actually going towards getting me a brand new premium Mustang GT coupe when I graduated college. I can't wait! A Mustang GT is way cooler than a PS3 so I'm concentrating all my savings for the car. It’s going to be sweet!

[Loomis]

Additional follow-up:

Wii-contest DJs could face criminal charges

New information comes to light from audio recordings of the show; Sheriff opens investigation into the death of mother-of-three Jennifer Strange.

http://au.gamespot.com/news/6164325.html

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.

I think that the behaviour here is disgusting, and it is indicative of the non-caring consumer society we live in. Everybody from the DJs to the deceased is responsible in part, as someone who has to have been feeling the effects long before she died decided to throw her health out for a toy. Have we really become that obsessed with "stuff" - be it games, consoles, ratings, product placement - that we are willing to kill and be killed for it?

I guess we don't have to worry about the environment killing us anymore, because we'll do it ourselves.

[jeremy88]

I don't really think that the contestants had any idea that they were putting their life on the line, because a lot of people actually don't know that you can die from water intoxication. They probably signed the waiver but it probably didnt state the possibility of death from water. People generally think that you can drink as much water as possible with out having any problems. Where in this case it wasn't. "It's just water, what the heck is water going to do?"
Perhaps if it was a pie eating contest or soda drinking contest they probably would have had second thoughts (Although most would probably do it anyway)
But it is a sad thing for the mother and the children. Especially over some consumer product...The radio DJ's do need to show some decency though..

[Ting Ting]

No, its not a shame. It's disgusting.

I don't blame the woman at all. I don't see how anyone can. As people have pointed out, nobody can know everything.

But when you do something like this, be it a silly stunt on a radio show, or if you're an actor doing your own stunt in a film or television show, you trust the organisers to have looked into the potential problems and okayed it. It's their responsibility to provide health and safety. I'm sure she signed the waiver expecting a doctor to be on hand etc.

Exactly! I probably would have done the contest myself. I knew that too much water could kill you, but I figured you would have to drink about six gallons or so for that to happen, but this woman only drank two! This is a very heart-breaking story and my heart goes out to the woman's family and friends.

Oh, and I hope you know that when I said it was a shame, I meant what the radio guy said was a shame. I don't see how someone could be so heartless.

[blackcauldron85]

In school Wednesday or Thursday, I heard someone say something about a woman drinking too much water, but I didn't know anything else until I read it here right now. That is such a sad thing.
I had no idea that water could kill you...my doctor even said recently that I should drink 8 glasses of water a day (which I've also heard is an old wives' tale)...I don't blame the woman for participating, since I would think that the majority of people don't know that too much water can kill. But, if at any point she felt sick, she should have stopped.
That radio station should be shut down, and those in charge of the event, be it the DJs, producers, executives, whoever, should be heavily fined and thrown is jail for a while. I hate to put people down, but they're stupid. They knew that water could kill but didn't care at all. What heartless people.
Someone, like the nurse, should have called the police, or done something. Protesters could have made signs and picketed. That's awful. So sad.

[Zoltack]

Well it's okay to drink large amounts of water over a long period of time and go to the bathroom regularly. But if you drink a gallon in less than 30 minutes and you hold it in that's bad. Even when something is good for you too much of it is bad which is why you hear people say "you need variety." For instance, eating carrots and nothing else for 30 days; carrots are good for you but after 30 days of just eating carrots your skin will turn orange.

[emileeetling]

Oh thats just Horrible!!!