Tributes For 60 Minutes' Bob Simon - Dead In a Car Accident Aged 73

Bob Simon was one of the regular correspondents on 60 Minutes, one of the documentary programs we almost never miss in our household. When I got a notification from my CNN app last night that he died in a car accident, it was like it happened to someone I knew. Now, tributes are pouring in from fellow journalists and fans of the veteran journalist. Bob Simon died at the age of 73, but IMO, he was gone too soon.

According to CBS,

Bob Simon was riding in the backseat of a livery cab around 6:45 p.m. Wednesday on New York City's West Side Highway when the car rear-ended another vehicle and crashed into barriers separating north- and southbound traffic... Unconscious with head and torso injuries, Simon was transported to St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital where he died. 

CBS News President David Rhodes shared his tribute in a statement.

"Bob Simon was a giant of broadcast journalism, and a dear friend to everyone in the CBS News family. We are all shocked by this tragic, sudden loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with Bob's extended family and especially with our colleague Tanya Simon."  

60 Minutes Executive Producer Jeff Fager said of Bob Simon's death;

"It's a terrible loss for all of us at CBS News. It is such a tragedy made worse because we lost him in a car accident, a man who has escaped more difficult situations than almost any journalist in modern times. Bob was a reporter's reporter. He was driven by a natural curiosity that took him all over the world covering every kind of story imaginable. There is no one else like Bob Simon. All of us at CBS News and particularly at 60 Minutes will mciss him very much."

CNN's Anderson Cooper reacted to the news on air last night, saying that from the time he was little, he looked up to Bob Simon.

"To me, he was everything a reporter should be and that I dreamed of being and still to this day hope to be a quarter of the reporter and the writer that Bob Simon was. When Bob Simon presented a story on '60 Minutes,' you knew it was going to be something special. All those who worked with him have special memories and I think it's incomprehensible to a lot of people."

Other veteran journalists like Larry King, Katie Couric, Meredith Vieira and Wolf Blitzer of CNN, and many others, have posted their tributes on Twitter;

So sorry to learn of the passing of Bob Simon. He was a great reporter & wonderful man. A frequent guest of mine. So sorry to hear this. RIP
— Larry King (@kingsthings) February 12, 2015

Heartbreaking news about Bob Simon of @60Minutes, a brilliant writer and reporter and someone I admired deeply.
— Katie Couric (@katiecouric) February 12, 2015

Bob Simon was an old friend, a wonderful colleague and an amazing journalist. He will be missed. pic.twitter.com/BdDveABoyL
— Wolf Blitzer (@wolfblitzer) February 12, 2015

Bob Simon was one of the last of his kind and the best of the best.His love of storytelling and distinctive style can never be replaced...
— Meredith Vieira (@meredithvieira) February 12, 2015

Can't process the idea that Bob Simon was in every war zone around the world and died in a car accident in NYC.
— Andy Cohen (@Andy) February 12, 2015

Terrible about CBS ace Bob Simon who survived perils across globe to die in a livery cab on the West Side Hgwy. You never know. Condolences.
— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) February 12, 2015

Bob Simon was an extraordinary journalist and story teller. Made us care about the world around us. True professional. Such a huge loss!
— Matt Lauer (@MLauer) February 12, 2015

Photo - CBS