Radio station cancels show, fires 10 over deadly Wii contest

Those DJ's were idiots, and their show sucked anyway... Shame the lady died, but they all should have known better.

Ugh .. can everyone stop reporting on this story? It has practically nothing to do with videogames - the word "Nintendo Wii" could be changed to anything else and no one would be talking about it (except, you know, her children, the radio station, and people in the area). Besides that, it's sure to attract the sort of immaturity that makes this website so great ...

The Wii is not only a second rate console but it also kills people!

I don't know if I should feel smart or maybe I just "have a clue." That I knew about water intoxication for close to 10 years now. And knew the consequences of such a competition beforehand. I feel bad for her not knowing that it was possible but I also hope it's a big In-yo-face to all the people I knew as kids who said I was stupid for saying too much water can kill you.

Surely the great members of the United States congress can do some of their world famous legislatin' and fix this water problem 'Merica has! Think of the kids! Just say no to water!

Shagi's comments are said to cause rapid swelling of the brain and seizures resulting in either coma or death.

I really wish this country would stop blaming everyone and everything for anything that goes wrong and start holding people to personal responsibility.

Water is LEGAL, it is required for human life. This could have easily been a hot dog eating contest. If this lady had to take a leak and didn't, that's HER problem. NO ONE should have been fired over this, it's ridiculous, and I'd stop listening to the radio station specifically to protest that.

Physical contests in general are inherently not safe, that's why they always have those waiver forms.

I really wish this country would stop blaming everyone and everything for anything that goes wrong and start holding people to personal responsibility.

Water is LEGAL, it is required for human life. This could have easily been a hot dog eating contest. If this lady had to take a leak and didn't, that's HER problem. NO ONE should have been fired over this, it's ridiculous, and I'd stop listening to the radio station specifically to protest that.

Physical contests in general are inherently not safe, that's why they always have those waiver forms.

On the radio this morning in Denver, the DJ's were discussing this and the fact nearly every radio station has done this style of contest before with no one being harmed.

They were also shocked by the fact that the shows producer and manager were not let go, only the online personality's.

I don't get it. Some lady doesn't take a tinkle, and she's not responsible because some men who spoke to her THROUGH A BOX told her to?

How come the station lawyers that approved the contest weren't fired?

Shagi, you've jumped the shark. You used to be one of the cool trolls ... what happened?

Oh, and it doesn't really matter that much that she was holding it in - the body can only filter water at a certain rate anyway. Most likely the reason she died is because she was on a low sodium diet. And yes, I agree, people need to stop doing things of their own volition and suing over it.

"All we can say is that we hope this is resolved quickly and, for the sake of the family, disappears into the void of old news stories."

-via Nintendowiifanboy, about 7 hours ago

SO THIS IS A BROADCASTING BLOG NOW?

In Corpus Christi the rock station held a contest for Rush tickets called "Gush for Rush" Same principle of drinking water and no one died. This lady should have been more careful about these "all you can eat/drink" contests. A nintendo wii is not worth this.

these assholes should all be charged with murder, listen to the broadcast of this and how they all joke about someone dying.

http://www.sacbee.com/static/newsroom/kdndslides/

Why doesn't shagi have negative stars? Proof the star system is horribly broken.

The Djs should not have held a contest that could so easiliy endanger lives. The company was right to fire them and I appreciate that Joystiq kept us notified.

-Thank you.

To everyone saying that the radio hosts should not have been fired, you should probably listen to the audio from the show. It'll change your tune.

http://www.sacbee.com/static/newsroom/kdndslides/

I may have jumped the shark but im still planning on at least another 4 seasons.

Sean - the star system actually is broken. The bloggers haven't been able to add or subtract for months now.

Holy shit, listen to that broadcast ... a woman calls in to tell them that someone could die of water intoxication and the DJ says, "Yeah, we're aware of that."

The story is just sad. And for those of you that think this was the mother's fault, I'm going to stick up for her. While personally I might question what would happen to my kidneys in this contest, until the story, I didn't even know you could die from too much water. The mother was trying to win her kids a Wii...cut the lady some slack!!

Assuming the reporting of the story is accurate, numerous people called in to tell the radio station this was very unsafe and they basically said 'So what, the contestants signed a waiver!'

I gave credit when the story broke out that the radio station may not have known the inherent dangers of the contest, but after hearing how many health professionals called in to tell them how dangerous it was, they only have themselves to blame.

I'm not one who likes to see frivolous lawsuits, (i.e. McDonald's Coffee or the Wii Strap debacle), but the children lost their mother and no amount of money can replace that. My condolences go out to the family.

I have heard Howard Stern do this type of contest. They bring in people and they have to drink like a 12 ounce bottle of water every 15 minutes. Last person to pee, wins.

If this lady drank 2 gallons of water, I think this contest was way more hardcore. I think the most water drank on any Stern contest was like 4 bottles of water. Plus, the people Stern has do the contest are like Pornstars or something. So, they aren't going after some toy for their kids. They don't really care if they win or lose.

What the hell? You guys are all "Personal responsibility! Don't regulate our video games! It's the parent's responsibility! Leave us alone Mr. Thompson!" Then you scream bloody murder when some consenting adult decides to do something dangerous and dies.

She signed a waiver, did something stupid for something cheap and stupid, and died. No one made her do it. How is that murder? Why fire the DJs? The only thing I see coming out of this is three kids with no mom and a candidate for the Darwin Awards.

Sad

haha, say what you want about Shagi, but that post #17 was hilarious.

http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur78.htm

Actually, that McDonald's law suit wasn't frivolous.

I think this is the unfortunate sort of thing that just had to happen

The DJs didn't think anything bad would happen, the chances that the contest would go smoothly were astronomically in their favor

But Something DID go wrong, something tragic and unforeseen, they realized thier mistake, but in the end, there really wasn't anything that could have been done

That the blame was heaped upon them was just as inevitable and unlikely as the woman's death (and not as tragic, but still tragic)

Actually the DJs and the station did not even know the warning signs of a big problem and that is prolly why she died. "My head hurts..." Oh ok, take your tickets and have fun....

If you think that this wouldn't have made news if it wasn't for a Wii then you overestimate how much everyone has an eye on the gaming world. This would have been reported on no matter what. It's not every day that someone dies in a radio contest. As a matter of fact they reported this on the BBC and they didn't mention once what the contest was for. (I'm american but I listen to BBC world service in my car)

Honestly, the worst part of all of these stories is always the number of talk show hosts, bloggers, and morons around the water cooler and online who feel the need to pass judgement one way or another on something that they've heard only the sketchiest details about.

Well, okay... actually the worst is when legislators hear the uninformed public grousing about it and decide to try and change some laws.

I've heard of the dangers of this kind of thing before, but I'm willing to bet some of the people I love in this world have not, and imagining hearing this news about them just makes me sad. My heart goes out to the family and friends of this woman.

You know, I have heard this story on various news channels since it happened, and none of them use the Wii AT ALL in their title or lead-in. The only places I have seen/heard the Wii being right in the article heading/title is on video game websites. Actually, the Fox News and CNN bites just mentioned they were doing it for a contest and didn't even mention it was a Wii.

Wait, foxnews reported on this.

It must be fake then.

/sarcasm

This almost seems like a conspiracy; Jennifer STRANGE? 107.9 THE END? I mean, pardon me for making some light out of death, but hers seems like a...STRANGE END.

And really, if her kids wanted a Wii that bad, they could've waited 'til they were more available, instead of letting their mom kill herself over it. Not blaming the kids squarely here, but then again I just don't like kids very much. Patience is something kids never seem to learn.

I don't think the radio personalities should have been fired over this. Those going into the contest should have known what the health concerns with drinking excessive amounts of water could be. Hell, I knew about water intoxication since I was 14. In all honesty, it's VERY hard to get water intoxication, I drank 12 gallons of water in 1 day to see if I could hit 14 gallons and I didn't even suffer from water poisoning. I also live a very active lifestyle and body build, but regardless, 2 gallons shouldn't have killed her (although it did) so I wouldn't hold the DJ's accountable.

Surely ALL the parties involved should share responsibility for this tragedy.
*All Management who approved the competition.
*The DJ's who incited it.
(I'm with you Feeple but u forget the extremes of 750,000 deaths in Rwanda and a woman who stopped traffic in new york having an orgasm - ALL THROUGH THE BOX!)
*And yes, the poor lady WAS in some part liable for her own actions BUT, without the enticement of the Wii she wouldn't have held in the wee.

The radio station hatched the egg and ultimately she was the chicken. Whose responsibility comes first?

Wow, it's a good thing Nintendo didn't name their system a Revolution.

To those who say she signed a waiver, that doesn't mean someone else cannot sue on behalf of her children. Nor does it completely exonerate the DJs or radio station if they knew of the dangers. The waiver has more to do with civil law, and it's still possible to have criminal charges, such as manslaughter due to recklessness, be brought up. Whether or not you agree with it, those are the facts.

"I don't get it. Some lady doesn't take a tinkle, and she's not responsible because some men who spoke to her THROUGH A BOX told her to?"

1. She was AT the radio station, as I understand it - how else could she sign a waiver.

2. Whether or not she tinkled doesn't matter - water intoxication happens when your system has so much water in it, it disrupts the natural processes of your cells, causing them to swell. It basically crushes your brain from the inside.

"Body fluids contain electrolytes (particularly sodium compounds, such as sodium chloride) in concentrations that must be held within very narrow limits. Water enters the body orally or intravenously and leaves the body primarily in the urine, sweat and by exhaled water vapour. If water enters the body more quickly than it can be removed, body fluids are diluted and a potentially dangerous shift in electrolyte balance occurs.

Most water intoxication is caused by hyponatremia, an overdilution of sodium in the blood plasma, which in turn causes an osmotic shift of water from extracellular fluid (outside of cells) to intracellular fluid (within cells). The cells swell as a result of changes in osmotic pressure and may cease to function. When this occurs in the cells of the central nervous system and brain, water intoxication is the result. Additionally, many other cells in the body may undergo cytolysis, wherein cell membranes that are unable to stand abnormal osmotic pressures rupture, killing the cells. Initial symptoms typically include light-headedness, sometimes accompanied by nausea, vomiting, headache and/or malaise. Plasma sodium levels below 100 mmol/L (2.3g/L) frequently result in cerebral edema, seizures, coma, and death within a few hours of drinking the excess water. As with alcohol poisoning, the progression from mild to severe symptoms may occur rapidly as the water continues to enter the body from the intestines or intravenously.

A person with two healthy kidneys can excrete about 900ml/h (0.24 gal)[2]). Consuming as little as 1.8 litres of water (0.48 gal) in a single sitting may prove fatal for a person adhering to a low-sodium diet, or 3 litres (0.79 gallons) for a person on a normal diet. However, this must be modulated by potential water losses via other routes. For example, a person who is perspiring heavily may lose 1 L/h (0.26 gal) of water through perspiration alone, thereby raising the threshold for water intoxication. The problem is further complicated by the amount of electrolytes lost in urine or sweat, which is variable within a range controlled by the body's regulatory mechanisms. Water intoxication can be prevented by consuming water that is isotonic with water losses, but the exact concentration of electrolytes required is difficult to determine and fluctuates over time, and the greater the time period involved, the smaller the disparity that may suffice to produce electrolyte imbalance and water intoxication.

Sodium is not the only mineral that can become overdiluted from excessive water intake. Magnesium is also excreted in urine. "Magnesium deficiency can cause metabolic changes that may contribute to heart attacks and strokes."[3] Intravenous magnesium is used in cardiac care units for cardiac arrhythmias."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication

This contest was very dangerous, they should have done more research before holding it. Had they used gatorade or "smart water" (or any other brand of water taht has electrolytes in it, it would have been harmless.

The fact that one of the DJs says on tape that she thinks this is dangerous, and the others tell her it'lll be fine, then their are callers who call in and say it's very dangerous... pretty damning, I would say.

You shouldn't have a contest like this without at least calling a doctor and asking "is it safe"?

I think the radio station and the family are taking this very responsibly. Although the family could sue, they do not because they have realize that she signed a wavier and didn't use there mother's/wife's/friend's death to their own personal gain. The radio station is also handling it responsibly because even though they didn't have to face any consequences, they realized what they had done was terrible, and got rid of the morning show and the DJ's on it.

On another subject, she might have died from drinking only 2 gallons of water because she was so small. On the show (links on comment #14 and 15) they even commented on her small build, so her body was probably not capable of taking in as much water as someone with more bulk. Although I am not related to the medical field in any way, this is my "hypothesis" of why she died after such a small amount of water ingested.

I agree with what alexanderwales said, seriously people...this story is about the death of a woman and here people making immature comments like, "The Wii is not only a second rate console but it also kills people!" and "Shagi's comments are said to cause rapid swelling of the brain and seizures resulting in either coma or death." Sure this didn't happen to you, so its ok for you to make comments like this, right? Wrong! Read the story for what it is, not for which console you like better. Grow the hell up.

I can't believe some of you are defending the DJs here. "The woman should have known the risks"...what a stupid statement!

It was THE DJs WHO OUTLINED THE RULES OF THE CONTEST, THE AMOUNT OF WATER, AND THEY should have researched the risks before hosting such a dangerous contest. That is what the woman would have assumed had happened, that they had some safety checks, some professionalism. But only to her cost, they hadn't, and instead the whole thing was was based off an unprofessional, spur-of-the-moment wordplay on the name "Wii". I find it disgusting, and those of you who try and defend the DJs here make me sick.

It's not murder, sure. Now i'm no law expert, but I would class it as an assisted suicide, which is illegal. Being fired is the least these bastards deserve.

Those DJ's are almost as retarded as these drivers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKOhFLQcVH8

This story is so sad. The family has to be going through a lot right now, and will be affected by this for years.

What upsets me though, is that the district attorney is Sacramento said it would not be a criminal matter. Now that I've heard the audio, and they were warned ahead of time they could kill someone, I seriously think charges should be brought against them.

I think it's all right to charge these radio personalities with some kind of a crime as long as we're consistent and charge drunk drivers with 1st degree murder if someone is killed due to their drunk driving or attempted murder if they're pulled over before anything happens. Fair is fair.

Well it sounds like that they knew it could cause death. Even joking about how the are not responsible cause the contestants signed a wavier. If you want to hear the audio here is the link.
http://www.sacbee.com/static/newsroom/kdndslides/

#33

So you drank 12 gallons of water? Or 96 lb's of water?

What was the time frame? And why did you not drink 14 gallons?

And did you take any salt tablets or anything? Cause I really have doubts you could, active lifestyle or not, put away that much water with no ill effects.

#43

I actually agree with that...drunks should be fully prosecuted for thinking they are above the law or too macho to be affected by alcohol.

They are scared of a lawsuit, they will probably have one anyway

A person is in charge of their own fate. She signed a waiver, knew it was dangerous. If her family could legally sue the radio station, even with the waiver, why can't a cancer family's victim sue a cigarette company? People know they WILL, not can, cause cancer over time, yet they still inhale that garbage...I ask any of you, what is the difference? There isn't one....