CBS colleagues mourn Simon
NEW YORK — Longtime “60 Minutes” correspondent Bob Simon, who covered most major overseas conflicts and news stories since the late 1960s during a five-decade career in journalism, was fondly remembered by his colleagues Thursday, a day after his death following a car crash. He was 73.
Simon was among a handful of elite journalists, a “reporter’s reporter,” according to his executive producer, whose assignments took him from the Vietnam War to the Oscar-nominated movie “Selma.” He spent years as a foreign correspondent for CBS News, particularly in the Middle East, where he was held captive for more than a month in Iraq in 1991.
“Bob Simon was a giant of broadcast journalism, and a dear friend to everyone in the CBS News family,” CBS News President David Rhodes said in a statement. “We are all shocked by this tragic, sudden loss.”
A Lincoln Town Car in which Simon was a passenger Wednesday night hit another car stopped at a Manhattan traffic light and then slammed into metal barriers separating traffic lanes, police said. Simon and the Town Car’s driver were taken to a hospital, where Simon was pronounced dead.
Police were still investigating the wreck, and no arrests had been made Thursday.
“CBS Evening News” anchor Scott Pelley, his eyes red, announced the death in a special report. “We have some sad news from within our CBS News family,” Pelley said. “Our colleague Bob Simon was killed this evening.” Simon had been contributing to “60 Minutes” on a regular basis since 1996.
Anderson Cooper, who does occasional stories for “60 Minutes,” was near tears talking about Simon’s death. He said that when Simon presented a story “you knew it was going to be something special.”