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Court awards $16.5m in 'Hold Your Wee for a Wii' radio stunt death
It's been a while since we've heard anything about the tragic case of Jennifer Strange, the mother who died from water intoxication during an attempt to win a Wii in KDND-FM's "Hold your Wee for a Wii" radio contest. Yesterday, a California jury finally ruled on the wrongful death suit filed by the victim's family back in 2007. Entercom Sacramento LLC, subsidiary of Philadelphia-based Entercom Communications Corp., must pay Strange's family $16.5 million after being found liable for the actions of its employees at KDND-FM.Money certainly can't replace a loved one -- most especially not a mother. We offer our condolences to the family of Jennifer Strange and ask that you remain respectful in your comments below. Hopefully, the money will go a long way in benefiting the three children and other family members she left behind.
'Hold Your Wee for a Wii' station, employees avoid criminal charges
So it looks like the family of that California woman who died of water intoxication after participating in a radio station-sponsored contest will only be able to find the justice they seek in civil, and not criminal, court, as the Sacramento County district attorney has decided not to file charges against 107.9 The End or any of its employees (or ex-employees, as the case may be, since many were fired as a result of the January 12th incident). In a statement released to the press, D.A. Jan Scully argued that 28-year-old single mom Jennifer Strange knew exactly what she was getting into when she signed up to compete for that Wii, and that her lack of symptoms while chugging down those two gallons of water relieved station employees of any culpability. Of course the Strange family still has the opportunity to hit The End's owner, Entercom, where it hurts, when they face the company in court to seek what will likely be millions of dollars over Strange's alleged wrongful death. Now we're no lawyers, but we've watched enough courtroom dramas to feel confident opining on the finer points of the law, and we're predicting a quiet out of court settlement here -- because even if jurors believe that the DJ's lacked malicious intent and took the proper precautions, the fact that they come off like callous buffoons during the broadcast should be enough to convince the defense that a trial is not the best option.[Via digg]
Woman dies after trying to win Wii
A California woman's death is being linked to her participation in a radio contest, the grand prize for which was a Nintendo Wii. Preliminary autopsy results indicate that 28 year old Jennifer Strange died of water intoxication. The contest? "Hold your Wee for a Wii." Contestants were given water at regular intervals in a no-pee-allowed endurance contest, and all to get their hands on a hard-to-find console.It seems fairly obvious what happened -- though we're not sticking out any pointy fingers of blame -- and the preliminary autopsy report is consistent with what seems as clear as the proverbial bell. Ms. Strange drank too much water too quickly, and she died. Not from "holding it," either. Water poisoning is a very real thing. Ingesting too much water can cause an imbalance in the body's electrolytes; in fact, this is one of the motivating factors behind the existence of the sports drink market. The death of Ms. Strange is horribly tragic, and it's unfortunate that she will be linked with the Wii by doomsayers to whom no topic is sacred. But there is a real question regarding what measures the radio station took in this case to prevent any problems, and it's been reported that Jennifer Strange spoke of not feeling well before leaving the contest. We have yet to see any comment from Sacremento's KDND 107.9 on the matter.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in.]
