SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A radio station fired three morning disc jockeys and seven other employees Tuesday after a woman died from drinking nearly 2 gallons of water in a contest.
The hosts of KDND-FM's "Morning Rave" were fired a day after the station announced it was suspending the show and investigating the death of Jennifer Lea Strange.
She died Friday after drinking the water in an attempt to win a Nintendo Wii, competing to see who could drink the most water without going to the bathroom.
John Geary, vice president and general manager of KDND's parent company, Entercom/ Sacramento, announced that 10 employees were fired.
Strange, 28, drank 1 3/4 of a gallon of water — according to another contestant — Friday morning during a "Hold your Wee for a Wii" contest.
Strange was the mother of three children, ages 11 months, 3 and 10. Her family has maintained public silence about the death, save for a prepared statement attesting to Strange's dedication as a mother.
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The show's disc jockeys — who go by the names Trish, Maney and Lukas — and morning personalities Carter and Fester would not be heard on the radio until an internal investigation ended, the station said.
Although Geary declined to identify the employees, the "Morning Rave" link on the station's Web site was missing Tuesday afternoon. The Myspace.com social networking site for the station no longer listed morning DJs Trish, Lukas or Maney as its "friends."
Coroner's officials said Saturday that Strange's autopsy revealed no life-threatening medical conditions and appeared "consistent with a water intoxication death."
It added, however, "the final cause of death will not be available for several months."
Sacramento District Attorney's spokeswoman Lana Wyant said no findings on the case have been sent to her office for review.
"There are times we initiate investigations on our own," she said. "I'm not sure this would be one of them."
