Bob Simon, an acclaimed and longtime correspondent for CBS News and 60 Minutes, was killed in a car accident on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 60 Minutes has confirmed. The news vet was 73 years old.
According to CBS affiliate CBS2, Simon was riding in the backseat of a town car that lost control on the West Side Highway in Manhattan. The driver of the car struck a Mercedes, and then struck the middle barrier of the highway.
Simon, who worked for CBS News for over 45 years, was rushed to St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital where he died, CBS2 reports. The driver of the town car was also taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries while the driver of the Mercedes was unharmed.
The acclaimed journalist, who achieved numerous awards throughout his career, including 27 Emmy awards, was an American Foreign Service officer from 1964 to 1967. Simon was also awarded one of journalism's highest honors, the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award, for "Shame of Srebrenica," a 60 Minutes II report on heinous acts of genocide during the Bosnian War.
Simon is survived by his wife Françoise Simon and daughter Tanya, who is a producer for 60 Minutes.
