Tom Brokaw, Wife Unhurt in Fatal New York City Crash

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Tom Brokaw, Wife Unhurt in Fatal New York City Crash
Friday, December 04, 2009
AP

In this image made from video, emergency personnel stand at the overturned SUV driven by an unidentified woman who was killed in the accident.

NEW YORK — Former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw and his wife said they escaped injury in a three-car accident on a New York City highway that killed one woman and injured a mail truck driver Friday afternoon.

The accident happened about 1 p.m. as Brokaw was driving in the left lane of the northbound Bruckner Expressway in the Bronx.

The Brokaws said they noticed a spool of cable bouncing in the far right lane, which caused the driver of the green SUV to lose control as she tried to avoid it.

The Brokaws said the SUV slid into the middle lane, forcing a mail truck into the couple's lane. The truck collided with Brokaw's vehicle.

Police say the SUV overturned after hitting debris in the road. The unidentified woman was thrown from the car and killed.

A U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman said the truck's driver, who wasn't identified, was hospitalized.

The 69-year-old Brokaw and his wife, Meredith, said in a statement they were "greatly saddened by this loss of life." Brokaw didn't say in his statement where the couple was headed at the time.

The New York Police Department declined to confirm that Brokaw was involved in the accident.

Brokaw retired as NBC anchor in 2004 and was succeeded by Brian Williams. He has made frequent appearances on the network, filling in as anchor of the network's "Meet the Press" for months after Tim Russert's death in 2008.