Station suspends DJ for on-air prank involving Kile's widow

PHOENIX (AP) _ A radio station suspended the disc jockey who called Darryl Kile's widow in an on-air prank and asked if she had a date to Thursday's playoff game. <br><br>The incident enraged St.

Saturday, October 5th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

PHOENIX (AP) _ A radio station suspended the disc jockey who called Darryl Kile's widow in an on-air prank and asked if she had a date to Thursday's playoff game.

The incident enraged St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa and prompted apologies from the radio station and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

KUPD-FM disc jockey Beau Duran was suspended Friday for at least a week, said Chuck Artigue, market manager for the Sandusky Group, which owns the station. Artigue announced the suspension to The Arizona Republic and Phoenix television stations but didn't return phone messages from The Associated Press.

Flynn Kile hung up the phone after Duran called her Phoenix hotel room.

Her husband, a starting pitcher for the Cardinals, was found dead in his bed at the team's hotel in Chicago on June 22. An autopsy showed the 33-year-old pitcher died from blocked coronary arteries.

The station's Web site carried an apology Friday headlined ``In Response to Our Misjudgment.'' It said the prank ``was not intended to be hurtful or malicious in any way.''

``We are truly amazed on (sic) how this turned into a media circus and we regret the turmoil that it caused people all over the country,'' it said.

The AP was unable to locate Duran on Friday.