They knew? How?
From the caller who claimed to be a nurse? Gee, maybe they should have stopped the contest right after that call from the "nurse". That's what you would have done, right? Sure you would.
Or maybe they knew because of the story where the kid was forced to drink water. Yeah. That's exactly what they were doing in the contest -- forcing water on them. They should have known NOT to force water on the contestants. Is that what they were doing?
"Authorities decided to pursue the investigation after listening to a tape of the Jan. 12 "Morning Rave" show that was obtained by The Sacramento Bee. On the tape, disc jockeys can be heard joking about the possible dangers of consuming too much water. They even alluded to a Chico State University student who died during a hazing stunt in 2005 after drinking large amounts of water. "
Sounds like the DJs knew the danger.
The issue it the large consumption of water in a short time, NOT if it was voluntary or forced.
I am saying that the DJs knew it was dangerous and did not have medical personnel available to monitor the health of the patients. Their main failure came after the contest was over and not ensuring the contestants were medically screened to determine if they needed to be sent to a hospital.