Woman dies in ‘Wii’ contest
p2pnet.net News:- As p2pnet pointed a while back, Nintendo’s ‘wii’ is prounced ‘wee’ and in most, if not all, of the UK and many other parts of the globe, it also means, "the process of disposing urine from the urinary bladder through the urethra to the outside of the body," as the Wikipedia phrases it.
But that’s as far as the humour goes because Jennifer Strange, a 28-year-old mother of three, "died from suspected water intoxication" after California radio station KDND-FM, owned by Entercom/Sacramento, staged a "Hold your wee for a Wii" contest, says Reuters, going on:
"About 20 people tried to out-drink each other without going to the toilet to win a Nintendo Wii game console."
As people chugged bottle after bottle on the Morning Rave, "a listener called in to warn the disc jockeys that the stunt could be fatal," says Associated Press, and, "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.”
Now, "All of you are probably aware of the tragic death of a contestant, Jennifer Strange, following her participation in a contest on the Morning Rave last Friday," says a post from VP and general manager John Gearyon Endlone.com, also promising, "circumstances regarding this matter are being examined as thoroughly as possible. We are doing everything we can to deal with this difficult situation in a manner that is both respectful and responsible. Effective immediately, the Morning Rave show is canceled."
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department has launched a criminal investigation and lawyer for the family plan to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the radio station, says AP.
Entercom/Sacramento also fired 10 employees connected to the contest, including three morning disc jockeys, says AP.
In a mordant post-script, KDND-FM is called 107.9, ‘The End’.
Also See:
Reuters – Family sues Calif. radio station after woman dies, January 19, 2006
Associated Press – Sheriff Looks Into Water-Drinking Death, January 19, 2006
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January 19th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
Waivers, release forms rarely stand up in Court.
Don’t ever think you are off the hook for any responsibilty just by getting someone to sign one.
We all have to be responsible for safety.
January 20th, 2007 at 5:43 am
I don’t know what possesses people when it comes to material things, some tend to think with their butts, and they end up doing ridiculous things, for toys, or money (for toys), FEAR FACTOR anybody!!! I am not eating crap for $50,000 (amount aside), hell no! That lady should have been a bit smarter, this is just a case of a Darwin Award, really!
January 20th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
Without the contest she would have been OK.
Without the contestants, the radio station would be OK.
These kind of disasters require two non-thinking parties to meet and work together.