CBS News reported that longtime news correspondent Bob Simon has been killed in a vehicular accident in New York City.
The 73-year-old news anchor was involved in a car crash on Manhattan's West Side Highway. The Lincoln Town Car that Simon was in crashed into another vehicle, both cars going off the road.
Simon was making preparations for his report on '60 Minutes' about the Ebola virus and the ongoing efforts to find a cure. Such report was scheduled for the upcoming broadcast on Sunday.
The award-winning anchor had been prepping up with his daughter, Tanya, who works as a producer for '60 Minutes' and has collaborated with his father several times for the program.
Following the CBS Evening News this Wednesday night, CBS shared the sad news about Simon being killed in a car accident, citing the reporter's various accomplishments in his longtime career and sharing condolences for his family.
CBS News President also offered his sympathy to the family that Simon left behind, while calling the news anchor as a "giant of broadcast journalism' as well as a "dear friend to everyone in the CBS News family."
Simon was widely recognized as a correspondent that shed light on mostly foreign affairs. In his career spanning fifty years, the news anchor bagged an impressive range of awards, including 27 Emmys and four Peabodys.
"We're obviously all in shock," '60 Minutes' executive editor Bill Owens said in an interview with Deadline. "It's a tremendous loss. Bob Simon covered some of the most difficult stories that any reporter has covered over the last 50 years."
Owens also mentioned that Simon was one of the last American news correspondents who rode out on a chipper from Vietnam. He was taken into hostage during the first Iraq War and was acknowledged as the "Dean of the Middle East correspondents for the CBS "Evening News'."
Simon began work at CBS News in 1967 and first covered New York riots and unrest along with the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. He also covered reported about the Troubles in Northern Ireland and the Vietnam War after being assigned in London and Saigon.
Aside from enduring imprisonment, on-the-job injuries and more, Simon further rose to fame when he took on news assignments in "war zones' such as Portugal, Cyprus, the Falklands and Yugoslavia. He was also present during the martial law in Poland, the Yom Kippur War, and the Israelis' attack on Lebanon.
All in all, Simon covered 35 conflicts that occurred overseas.
Aside from his daughter, Simon left behind his wife Francoise, son-in-law Evan and grandson Jack.
