A chilling tragedy unfolded live on American radio as two DJs laughed whilst a contestant slowly killed herself by drinking water in a bid to win a Nintendo Wii.
Jennifer Strange, aged 28, took part in a deadly challenge on KDND-FM 107.9’s Morning Rave programme on January 12, 2007, just months after the groundbreaking gaming console hit the shelves, hoping to secure one for her three youngsters.
The station’s ‘Hold Your Pee for a Wii’ competition required participants to consume as much water as humanly possible without visiting the toilet, with the victor ultimately claiming the Nintendo Wii as their prize.
Jennifer joined 17 other contestants from 6.45am, downing 240ml bottles of water every quarter of an hour inside KDND’s Sacramento, California studios – with the water volumes escalating as competitors progressed through the rounds.
“My head hurts. They keep telling me that it’s the water… that it will tell my head to hurt and it’ll make me puke,” she was heard telling one presenter live on-air, prompting them to mockingly respond: “Who told you that, the intern?”, reports the Mirror.
The radio hosts subsequently made cruel jokes about the mother-of-three’s swollen belly “looking pregnant,” remarking: “This is so funny.”
Jennifer reportedly downed 7.6 litres of water before securing second place, then telephoned a colleague to explain she was experiencing severe pain and wouldn’t be coming to work that morning.
Her mother discovered her lifeless body at home just one hour afterwards. In the ensuing legal action brought by Jennifer’s relatives, programme listeners, including a healthcare professional, gave evidence to the court they had tried to step in during the stunt, telephoning the presenters to alert them to the dangers involved.
Eva Brooks said: “Those people that are drinking all that water can get sick and possibly die from water intoxication,” to which the programme reassured her they “were aware of that” and that participants had signed a release “so we’re not responsible”.
The competition carried on despite these cautionary calls, with the quantity of water consumed increasing twofold as the broadcast progressed.
The Strange family’s solicitor, Roger Dreyer, disputed that Jennifer had signed a liability waiver, arguing that the broadcaster had failed to present one in court.
Rather, she had signed a document allowing them to utilise the competition in marketing materials.
The Morning Rave programme was instantly axed following Jennifer’s death, and the station was ordered to pay $16.5million (£12.9m) to her family in the wrongful death proceedings.
No criminal charges were brought in relation to the incident.
Jennifer’s husband William Strange told Good Morning America: “It was a preventable thing,” whilst Dreyer added: “She acted based upon the information she had.”