TORONTO — Tributes are pouring in on social media for longtime 60 Minutes correspondent Bob Simon, who died Wednesday in a car crash in New York City.
Simon, 73, was a passenger in a Town Car that collided with a Mercedes-Benz and then slammed into a pedestrian expansion on the West Side Highway.
Emergency responders had to pull the roof off the Town Car to extract Simon, who had suffered horrific head and stomach injuries. He was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The driver of the Town Car suffered broken legs and a broken arm.
Simon won 27 Emmy Awards during his long career. He joined CBS in 1967 and worked as a foreign correspondent. While covering the 1991 Gulf War, he was captured by Iraqi forces and held hostage for 40 days, according to the network.
BELOW: Watch raw video from the scene of the crash that killed Bob Simon.
Jeff Fager, executive producer of 60 Minutes, tweeted about Simon:
One of Simon’s most recent segments for 60 Minutes was an interview with Selma director Ava DuVernay.
On Twitter, DuVernay said she was stunned by the news of his death. “We spent time together … just a few weeks ago,” she wrote. “My goodness. May God rest his soul.”
BELOW: Kris Van Cleave has more on the life of longtime CBS News and 60 Minutes correspondent Bob Simon.
CBS News anchor Scott Pelley, also a contributor to 60 Minutes, reported the sad news.
High profile journalists and celebrities reacted to Simon’s death on Twitter.
“My heart goes out to Bob’s family,” tweeted Maria Shriver. “I worked with him. True journalist.”
Piers Morgan described Simon as “one of the greats of TV journalism.”
Here’s a look at more social media tributes.
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