A woman who participated in a radio station's water-drinking contest died of water intoxication, officials said.

Jennifer Strange, 28, took part in the "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest in which KDND 107.9 promised a Nintendo Wii video game system for the contestant who could drink the most water without going to the bathroom. She was found dead Friday in her suburban Rancho Cordova home hours after the contest.

"She said to one of our supervisors that she was on her way home and her head was hurting her real bad," said Laura Rios, one of Strange's co-workers at Radiological Associates of Sacramento. "She was crying and that was the last that anyone had heard from her."

It was not immediately know how much water Strange consumed.

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WATER INTOXICATION

A preliminary investigation found evidence "consistent with a water intoxication death," said assistant Coroner Ed Smith.

John Geary, vice president and marketing manager for Entercom Sacramento, the station's owner, said station personnel were stunned when they heard of Strange's death.

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THE CONTEST

Contestants initially were handed eight-ounce bottles of water to drink every 15 minutes.

"They were small little half-pint bottles, so we thought it was going to be easy," said fellow contestant James Ybarra of Woodland. "They told us if you don't feel like you can do this, don't put your health at risk."

Ybarra said he quit after drinking five bottles. After he quit, he said, the remaining contestants, including Strange, were given larger bottles to drink.

"I was talking to her and she was a nice lady," Ybarra said. "She was telling me about her family and her three kids and how she was doing it for kids."

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