Veteran CBS News Journalist Killed in New York Car Crash

VOA News
12 February 2015

Award-winning CBS News correspondent Bob Simon, who covered many of the world's major conflict zones over a five-decade career, was killed Wednesday night in a car crash in New York City. He was 73 years old.

Authorities say Simon was a passenger in a car that struck another vehicle, then veered into metal barriers separating traffic lanes.

Simon joined CBS News in 1967, covering campus demonstrations and inner city riots. His time as a war correspondent began in 1971, when he was sent to Saigon at the height of the Vietnam War, and was on one of the last helicopters to leave the besieged city as the U.S. withdrew in 1975.

Simon spent 20 years as CBS News' chief Middle East correspondent beginning in 1987. He and three of his colleagues were captured by Iraqi forces at the start of the Persian Gulf War in January 1991, and spent 40 days in captivity. He also covered conflicts in Northern Ireland, Yugoslavia and Portugal.

He later became a regular correspondent for the network's news magazine show "60 Minutes" and its short-lived spinoff, "60 Minutes II." Simon won numerous prestigious journalism awards during his career, including 27 Emmys.