60 minutes correspondent Bob Simon dies in a car accident today. Simon had joined CBS in 1967 as a reporter and editor based in New York. Mr.Simmon is survived by his wife, Françoise, have one daughter, who is a producer for “60 Minutes”

In his momentous career, Simon had covered the Vietnam and the Gulf wars. Mr Simon aged 73 was killed in a freak car accident in New York.

Jeff Fager, the executive producer of 60 Minutes said, “It’s a terrible loss for all of us at CBS News. It’s such a tragedy, made worse because we lost him in a car accident — a man who’s escaped more difficult situations than almost any one journalist in modern times … we will miss him very much.”

In a career which spanned 50 years, saw him earning many accolades and countless awards.

CNN’s Anderson Cooper, who worked with Simon at “60 Minutes said, “Bob was, and I’ll tell you it’s very hard to talk about him in the past tense, but Bob was for the last five decades, simply one of the best, in my opinion … at getting a story, telling a story, writing a story and making it simply unforgettable.”

Simon was seated in the rear of the Lincoln Town car when it collided with another vehicle at a red light junction and then a stanchion dividing traffic. By the time Police officers arrived at the scene Simon who was seated in the rear of the vehicle was unconscious with serious injuries to his head and torso. He was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. The vehicle’s driver is said to be in stable condition.

Simon was captured by the Iraqi forces at the beginning of Gulf War. He and three colleagues endured 40 days in prison and it also became the inspiration for a book he authored named ‘Forty Days’