Tom Brokaw Involved in Fatal Car Accident

(CBS)  Former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw and his wife Meredith were in an accident in New York Friday that resulted in the death of a woman who was thrown from a sport utility vehicle.

Brokaw released a statement this afternoon offering an explanation for what took place. They said the accident occurred around 1:00 p.m.

"The Brokaws were in the far left lane when they noticed a spool of cable bouncing along the far right lane," the statement reads. "Just then, a green SUV in the right lane came up fast and tried to avoid the cable. The driver lost control of her vehicle and slid into the middle lane, forcing a mail truck into the Brokaw lane of traffic."

"As the mail truck careened into the Brokaw lane, Tom hit the brakes hard and skidded along the median," the statement continues. "When the mail truck catapulted the median the Brokaw vehicle slid into it. Neither Tom nor Meredith were injured but tragically the driver of the SUV was thrown from her vehicle and killed."

"Tom and Meredith are greatly saddened by this loss of life," it concludes.

CBS radio station 1010WINS has a story posted on its Web site about the accident. It reports that one person was killed and one injured in the crash.

"The female driver of the SUV was ejected from her vehicle and thrown over the highway down to the train tracks below," according to the report. "She was pronounced dead at the scene."

The woman, 28, reportedly worked as a dispatcher for a car service.

[teseal]

When will we be told from what trailer that spool of cable fell off of? I have noticed that in most articles involving semi trucks and trailers the name of the trucking company is rarely revealed. I am sure the media nation wide can't have an agreement with the trucking industry to keep this information from us. For example, a large flat bed trucking company out of Spokane, WA couldn't continue to ignore the risk they pose to everyone in every state who must share the highways with them once their name started to make headlines. If the media would just include the name of the trucking company responsible for things like steel coils or spools of cable bouncing down your interstate, then maybe a family in Ohio wouldn't be grieving for their husband, father, and son because just another steel coil flew off that Washington state company trailer last July. If the media always tried to report the companys involved then we the public would know that this company has been sited repeatedly for failure to properly secure steel coils resulting in numerous crashes and finally in the needless loss of life in Ohio. We can't count on the Federal government to accurately track these company's safety performance. We need to ask ourselves and then the media--why we rarely know the name of the company involved. I am sorry for the woman who died in this accident and her family. Perhaps, if we hear the whole story--where did the spool come from--we will help force trucking companys to improve safety and help to prevent another man or woman from dying due to more lost cargo on our highways.

[helensuedell]

its true seatbelts save lives ... my daughter hit black ice on a winding hwy 299 between redding and Weaverville,ca.. her van hit the other side of road and flipped over. all wore seats belts and walked
away from without a scratch. were rescued within minutes. seat belts are tryly lifesavers.

[erasmus111]

by helensuedell December 5, 2009 3:53 PM EST
seat belts are tryly lifesavers.


Most times, but not always. I was in a car accident years ago, and if I had have been wearing my seat belt, I would be dead.

[aChangeOfIdeas]

nobody's mentioning that a SPOOL OF CABLE should not be "bouncing in the right lane". No matter how good you drive, when something highly unexpected like that happens it is very hard to avoid. The fault here lies with whoever did not properly fasten their load and let it drop on the highway (if that's how it happened)

[pete_in_az]

well **** happens wear your seatbelt. i've lost three friends to car crashes, all three would be alive today if they were wearing their seatbelts. whether it was a deer in the road or a spool of cable or a driver/mechanical error crashes happen it doesn't matter who is to blame.

[mugaluv]

pete_in_az: My sister was killed in a rollover and she had on her seatbelt, her airbags deployed, the vehicle gadgets all worked fine (the roof didn't even cave in). Yet, she died of massive injuries because there were no side airbags, or it was just her time. Don't fault the dead; you really don't know and it isn't respectful.

[skyydee1]

Really Sad.

[erasmus111]

So exactly what happened with the SUV? He explains what happened to his car and the mail truck, but not really the SUV.

[winslowe1]

This article is about Brokaw. You'll have to go to a news site for the complete story. I'm surprised they even mentioned that the woman died.

[thesevenveils]

Here is the translation:
Tom Brokaw was driving slower than an old lady in the left hand lane. The mail truck was passing him in the center lane and the lady in the SUV was passing both of this slow traffic in the right hand lane.

If Tom had been in the right hand lane where he belonged he would have been driving slow enough to avoid the spool of cable. The woman in the SUV would have still been in the left lane and had already passed the mail truck.

Lesson: stay out of the left lane unless you want to keep up with the FAST left lane traffic.

[AOCGUY]

You are blaming Brokaw for this accident based upon an assumtion that he was driving too slow? You have got to be kidding me. No where in this article does it even hint that he wasn't operating his vehcile properly nor was in the incorrect lane. This is an unfortunate accident exacerbated by possibly the lady not wearing her seatbelt and an unexpected object in the traffic lane. Had the SUV braked rather than trying to veer around the spool most likely this story would have never been told.

[Phxfire]

Another reader who has second vision or a crystal ball. Based on what I read nothing in your assumptions or interpretation passes the test. I have to laugh, even when there is a tragedy, at people like you who KNOW what happened just by using your vivid and overactive imaginations.

[stryker54]

I've been driving for over 40 years and have seen so many people driving recklessly and flip their cars. Most of the time these drivers really have no idea on how to control a car and this is why these accidents happen. I was 13 when my Dad taught me to drive and it was down a dirt road. By the time I had my license at 16 he had drilled it into my head that if you follow the laws for driving you will never have a problem with the police. That if you drive your vehicle the way it is to be driven and know how to control it, you won't have a problem, if you do drive your vehicle in a way it was not inteaded for you WILL have a problem if you need to make a manuever quicker than expected. Very true since in my younger years I had a few close calls because I was reckless and took chances, but overall, I just think that most people drive like their vehicle is a go-cart and that it won't fail them in stopping and turning,as in SUV's. Sad day for the family of the young girl. We should all count our blessings. To all people driving, don't get in a hurry because thru no fault of your own, there might be an obstacle in the road.

[Dreadnut]

Where does it say anything in the story concerning "seatbelt"? Are you judgmental dingbats also clairvoyant?

[DoubleHappiness88]

by Dreadnut December 4, 2009 11:17 PM EST
Where does it say anything in the story concerning "seatbelt"? Are you judgmental dingbats also clairvoyant?
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Nah. They are just judgmental Republicans with a fetish for punishment.

[Phxfire]

People are rarely thrown from their vehicles if they were wearing seatbelts. That is a fact, not an assumption. In fact, during almost 30 years with the FD I never saw that happen. Perhaps in an older car, a seatbelt could become damaged, but really, use common sense.
P.S. Doublehappiness: I'm a proud Democrat and this has nothing to do with politics. Why some of you, liberal/conservative and democrat/republican, insist on bringing it into every subject I don't understand.

[SusanStoHelit]

I can't believe how some people still don't wear seatbelts. And I'd never drive a SUV - I want a car that I can depend on to make a turn, not roll over in an emergency!

[wyodutch]

Too many ordinary citizens with SUV's. Only the federal government needs to drive those big rigs.

[writer10]

What?? You can drive a pruis, focus, neon or a pacer for all I care, but my kids will be wrapped in real steel when it comes to travel...I won't judge you, you don't judge others

[4thought]

Or you might need them if you got a big fanny and need to run out for milk! Seriously, I think lousy drivers use them to compensate. Tax em to the hilt - if they want to drive a 5 ton armored truck to run 2 skinny kids to their soccer match!