A Sacramento Superior Court jury today awarded the survivors of Jennifer Lea Strange $16,577,118 as a result of her death nearly three years ago in a water-drinking contest conducted by a local radio station.

In making the award, the seven-man, five-woman panel voted unanimously to find that Entercom Sacramento LLC, the local subsidiary of Entercom Communications Corp. of Philadelphia was negligent in putting on the contest that ultimately resulted in Strange's death.

The jury, also unanimously, exonerated the parent company.

Jurors also voted 10-2 that there was no contributory negligence on Strange's part.

"I'm very thankful and appreciative that the jurors took their time and that they held the appropriate people accountable," Jennifer Strange's widower, Billy Strange, told reporters after the verdict was read.

Roger A. Dreyer, the attorney who represented Billy Strange and the two young children he had with Jennifer Strange, said the verdict will send a message to media outlets nationwide.

"This is a very powerful verdict that's gong to resonate across the country to the media," Dreyer said. "Every single radio station is going to understand what happened today. I don't know about you, but the size of the number is a pretty substantial sum. They're going to pay attention to it.

"I'm confident we're going to see how they administer everything across the board on contests. That's what this jury has done, more than anything," Dreyer added.

Charles Sipkins, a Los Angeles-based spokesman for Entercom, called the woman's death "a tragedy."

"Our hearts go out to all of her loved ones, including, in particular, her husband and children," Sipkins said in an e-mailed statement.

"While legal restrictions preclude is from commenting further, we respect the jury's decision and hope that it will assist the Strange family in coping with its loss."

Juror La Teisha Paggett said the verdict should send a message that "these stations need to be more cognizant of what they're doing and they need to take the time to do the research to make sure no one's harmed."

Tammy Elliott, another juror on the panel, said the evidence against Entercom Sacramento was "overwhelming."

The Sacramento subsidiary, she said, "had not followed their rules and guidelines that were set not only by Sacramento Entercom but the parent company. And if it had been done, I don't think this contest would have gone on, or if it did, it would have went on with medical personnel and it would have been put on in a safe way."

In breaking down the plaintiffs' award, the jurors voted 10-2 to give the survivors' $1,477,118 in economic damages related to Jennifer Strange's future earnings potential and 9-3 to present them with another $15.1 million in non-economic damages for the loss of her love, companionship and support.

Elliott said the jury deliberations were "very" heated when it came to the issue of the non-economic damages. She said the individual panel members were "all over the board on numbers." She said the final amount represented an average of figures that each juror came up with on their own.

Plaintiffs lawyers had asked the jury for an award for economic and non-economic damages in a range of $34 million to $44.3 million.

Strange, 28, died Jan. 12, 2007, after participating in what KDND "The End" 107.9 promoted as its "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest that promised the popular Nintendo video game to whomever could drink the most water without urinating or vomiting.

The Sacramento County Coroner's Office determined that she died of acute water intoxication. The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department investigated the case to see if it was a homicide, but no criminal charges were filed.

Plaintiffs attorneys filed the wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of her husband, William Strange, individually and as guardian of their two young children, Ryland, 6, and Jorie, 3; and Ronald Sims, the father and guardian of the woman's oldest son, Keegan, 13. The plaintiffs charged that the defendants were negligent in holding the contest.