01-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Woman died after drinking too much water for twisted radio show competition
Mother-of-three Jennifer Strange took part in the 'Hold Your Pee for Wii' game for her children, but soon told the show's hosts that she wasn't feeling well
A haunting case played out over America's airwaves with two radio disc jockeys laughing as a guest slowly drank herself to death with water on-air in an attempt to win a Nintendo Wii.
Twenty-eight-year-old Jennifer Strange entered a challenge on KDND-FM 107.9's Morning Rave show on January 12, 2007, a few months after the revolutionary game console was released, to win one for her three children.
The 'Hold Your Pee for a Wii' segment of the show involved contestants drinking as much water as possible without using the bathroom, with the winner eventually being awarded with the Nintendo Wii.
Jennifer was one of 18 people taking part from 6.45am, drinking from a 240ml water bottle every 15 minutes in a room in KDND's studios in Sacramento, California - the quantity of water increased as the active participants advanced.
"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 could be heard on-air telling one of the show's hosts, to which they joked "Who told you that, the intern?"
The DJs later joked that the mother of three's bloated stomach "looked pregnant," adding, "This is so funny."
Jennifer would reportedly consume 7.6 litres of water, finishing in second place, before calling a co-worker, informing them she was in serious pain and would not be attending work that morning. Her mum would find her dead inside her own home an hour later.
In the subsequent lawsuit launched by Jennifer's family, listeners of the show, including a nurse, testified to the court they had attempted to intervene in the prank, calling DJs to warn them of the risks at hand.
Eva Brooks explained: "Those people that are drinking all that water can get sick and possibly die from water intoxication," to which the show assured her they "were aware of that" and that contestants had signed a release "so we're not responsible."
The contest continued despite these warning calls, with the amount of water consumed doubling as the show went on.
The Strange family's attorney, Roger Dreyer, denied Jennifer signed a liability waiver, citing that the station failed to produce one in court. Instead, she had signed a form permitting them to use the contest in promotional advertisements.
The Morning Rave show was immediately cancelled in the wake of Jennifer's death, and its station was made to pay $16.5million to her family in the wrongful death case. No criminal charges were made in connection with the incident.
Husband, William Strange, told Good Morning America, "It was a preventable thing," while Dreyer added: "She acted based upon the information she had."
