Veteran '60 Minutes' Reporter Bob Simon Dead in Car Accident

Veteran 60 Minutes reporter Bob Simon was killed Wednesday in a car accident in New York City, CBS News reports. The celebrated journalist was 73.

CBS Evening News achor Scott Pelley broke into regular programming at 7:01 p.m. PT to deliver the news.

According to the New York Daily News, Simon was a passenger in a livery cab. The vehicle was driving south on the West Side Highway when it suddenly rear-ended another car and then crashed into the median.

PHOTOS: Stars We've Lost In Recent Years

Simon was rushed to St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital, where he later died. The driver of the cab and the 23-year-old driver of the car that was rear-ended both sustained minor injuries.

No information regarding the cause of the accident has been released.

CBS News President David Rhodes released a statement saying, "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 producer Jeff Fager added, "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 miss him very much."

Simon's illustrious career spanned five decades, during which time he covered foreign affairs, overseas conflicts and political unrest. During his career, Simon was awarded four Peabody awards and 24 Emmys.

Most recently, Simon's interview with Selma director Ava DuVernay aired on 60 Minutes this past weekend. DuVernay expressed her condolences after learning the news Wednesday evening.

After news of his death broke, actor Jeff Daniels, star of the HBO drama The Newsroom, tweeted his condolences and memories of meeting Simon at the red carpet premiere of the show’s first season.

Anderson Cooper also took to Twitter to express his disbelief at the news of Simon's fatal crash.

Simon is survived by his wife, Francoise, and their daughter Tanya.

UPDATE: The news of Simon's death has elicited an outpouring of condolences and memorials online, with journalists and news personalities sending their thoughts and prayers on Twitter.