WABC/Channel 7 reporter Lisa Colagrossi died Friday after suffering a catastrophic brain aneurysm while out on assignment, according to officials at the television station.
The 49-year-old mother of two was rushed to New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center’s neurological ICU Thursday and placed on life support. She never regained consciousness.
Colagrossi’s family was at her bedside when doctors gave them the heartbreaking news that it was unlikely that she’d recover, sources said.
The newsroom was left “reeling” after station general manager Dave Davis told co-workers about the tragedy.
“Lisa Colagrossi embodied the Eyewitness News spirit—a straightforward reporter who told the truth, empathetic to the everyday citizens of the New York area, and demanding of those in power,” said Dave Davis, president and general manager of WABC-TV in a statement released on Friday.
The aneurysm struck Colagrossi on her way back from a live report at the scene of a four-alarm fire in Woodhaven, Queens, that tore through a series of homes late Wednesday night.
“She was in the news van after finishing her live shot when she said ‘Oh my God, something is wrong,’ ” a friend said.
A co-worker said that her cameraman flagged down an ambulance and she was taken to the hospital.
Colagrossi joined WABC in 2001 as a morning reporter. She also filled in occasionally at the anchor desk.
Before joining Channel 7, she worked as an anchor at WKMG in Orlando, where she won two local Emmy awards.
“Lisa will be terribly missed,” said Camille Edwards, News Director at Channel 7. “Her bright smile and big blue eyes lit up our newsroom. She was a reporter with two wonderful qualities: grace and grit.”
Colagrossi was a resident of Stamford, Conn., and is survived by her husband, Todd Crawford, and two sons, ages 11 and 14.”
Full statement from WABC:
Lisa Colagrossi, 49, a reporter for Eyewitness News on WABC-TV/Channel 7, died Friday after a brain hemorrhage, according to officials at the television station in New York.
Colagrossi collapsed suddenly on Thursday after finishing her reports from a Queens house fire for Eyewitness News This Morning. She was the passenger in a news van headed back to the station, and the photographer with her quickly flagged down an ambulance, which rushed her to Presbyterian Hospital on the Upper East Side. She never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead on Friday.
Lisa Colagrossi joined WABC-TV a few days after the World Trade Center disaster in September of 2001, and has been covering major news stories in the tri-state area ever since, from the crash of Flight 587 in the Rockaways to Hurricane Sandy. She has also been a substitute anchor on various Eyewitness News programs, and was part of the broadcast team for the Columbus Day Parade on Channel 7. Most recently, she has been a reporter for the Eyewitness News programs in the morning and at noon.
Before joining WABC-TV, Lisa was a main news anchor for WKMG-TV in Orlando, Florida.
She began her journalism career at WKYC-TV in her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, before reporting for stations in West Virginia and Alabama. She is the winner of several local Emmy awards and nominations, and the recipient of numerous awards from the Florida Associated Press and Society of Professional Journalists.
“Lisa Colagrossi embodied the Eyewitness News spirit- a straightforward reporter who told the truth, empathetic to the everyday citizens of the New York area, and demanding of those in power,” said Dave Davis, President and General Manager of WABC-TV. “All of us in the Channel 7 family are in shock over her sudden death. Our attention is now focused on helping her husband and two children through this difficult time.”
“Lisa will be terribly missed,” added Camille Edwards, News Director at Channel 7. “Her bright smile and big blue eyes lit up our newsroom. She was a reporter with two wonderful qualities: grace and grit. Her Eyewitness News family is overwhelmed with grief right now. Our hearts are truly broken.”
Colagrossi was a resident of Stamford, Connecticut, where she was a proud hockey Mom, and is survived by her husband Todd and two sons, age 11 and 14.
