What?! Competition Death

At least they aren't going to sue Nintendo.

Wii Competition Ends in Tragedy

UK, January 15, 2007 - A woman drank herself to death during a radio station's competition to win a Wii by seeing how much contestants could drink before going to the toilet.

However the challenge ended in disaster when 28-year-old Jennifer Strange was killed by "water intoxication". She was hoping to win a console for her three children.

A work colleague said Ms Strange left her job and went home sick because her head was "hurting real bad". She was later found dead at her home by her mum.

John Geary from KDND 107.9 in California, the station that organised the competition, said staff were stunned by Ms Strange's death. He added: "We are awaiting information that will help explain how this tragic event occurred."Those taking part were given a 225ml bottle of water to drink every 15 minutes. As the contestants were whittled down they were given larger bottles. It's not known how much Ms Strange drank.

Station Fires 10 After Wii Tragedy

UK, January 17, 2007 - Employees at a Californian radio station that held a "hold your wee for Wii" challenge have been fired after the death of one of the contestants.As we reported (see above) earlier this week, 28-year-old Jennifer Strange died of "water intoxication" while taking part in a contest to see who could drink the most water without going to the toilet.

The winner of the competition would win a Wii. However the publicity stunt ended in disaster when Ms Strange was found dead at her home by her mother the following day, having drunk almost two gallons of water during the challenge.

Radio Station KDND, 107.9 FM has now fired five members of the Morning Rave show, on which the competition was broadcast, and sacked a further five people.Last night a chilling extract from the radio show appeared on the Sacramento Bee website. During the early stages of the contest one host joked about people dying after drinking too much water.

One listener called Eva rang in to warn the station that contestants could die due to water intoxication. A host replied: "We're aware of that". Another then said: "They signed releases, so we're not responsible. It's OK".

As the competition came to a close Ms Strange complained her head was hurting. "They keep telling me though that it's the water, that it will tell my head to hurt and then it will make me puke," she said. There have now been calls for criminal charges to be pressed against competition organisers at the station, although local sheriffs have said there are no grounds for prosecution.