Strange's family to file wrongful death suit against KDND-FM

The family of a woman who died after drinking nearly two gallons of water in an on-air radio contest is planning to sue the station. They will file a wrongful death lawsuit to make an example out of the station and attempt to curb such contests giving little thought to possible danger, their lawyer said on Thursday.

Jennifer Strange, a 28-year-old mother of three from the Sacramento suburb of Rancho Cordova, died from suspected water intoxication after participating in radio station KDND-FM's water-drinking contest, "Hold your wee for a Wii," on Friday.

The object of the competition was to see how much water contestants could drink without going to the bathroom. And, nearly 18 people tried to out-drink each other without going to the toilet to win the top prize which was a Nintendo Wii gaming console.

Strange, who during the contest had complained that her head hurt, gave up after drinking nearly two gallons of water and had won the second-place prize, tickets to a Justin Timberlake concert.

Roger Dreyer, a senior partner of the Sacramento law firm Dreyer, Babich, Buccola & Callaham, and also a personal injury lawyer, accused radio station KDND-FM of knowing of the dangers of the water-drinking contest but continuing anyway.

He considered the contest merely a ratings stunt designed to boost profits.

“Outrageousness at any cost has become the industry standard – the trashier and more humiliating the better,” Dreyer said. “It's time to stop the recklessness.”

After the death of Strange, the radio station KDND-FM, owned by Entercom/Sacramento, responded by firing 10 staffers, including the three “Morning Rave” disc jockeys, who are accused of joking about people dying from water intoxication and teasing Strange about her enlarged stomach. KDND also took the show off the air.

On a tape of the Jan. 12 “Morning Rave” show that was obtained by The Sacramento Bee disc jockeys can be heard joking about the possible dangers of consuming too much water, at one point alluding to a 21-year-old Chico State University student, Matthew Carrington, who died during such a stunt in 2005.

A listener, self-identified as a nurse, during the contest called the live radio broadcast and warned that the game was dangerous. "I want to say that those people drinking all that water can get sick and die from water intoxication," said the caller.

"Yeah, we're aware of that," one of the jockeys said. "Yeah, they signed releases, so we're not responsible. We're OK," another laughed.

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, on Wednesday, launched a criminal investigation into the incident, and police are also investigating the death for possible criminal charges.

Station spokesman Charles Sipkins declined to comment on the lawsuit to be filed by the diseased family, and also said the company had, though, not yet heard from the sheriff's department but if launched it would cooperate with the investigation.

Water intoxication, also known as hyperhydration or water poisoning, can prove fatal and cause irregular heartbeat, fluid in the lungs and swelling of the brain.