Lisa Colagrossi, reporter for WABC 7, passed away last night after suffering a brain hemorrhage. The news station said, "We have some sad news to share with you about our Eyewitness News family. Lisa Colagrossi, Eyewitness News reporter, anchor, wife and mother, has died at age 49."
WABC 7 added, "Thursday seemed like just another morning, with Lisa Colagrossi doing what she did so well, reporting live from the scene. She was an amazing reporter, committed to Eyewitness News. She was dedicated to telling a story with honesty, a working woman, a hockey mom, she was gutsy and fearless."
According to the Daily News, "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." A friend said, "She was in the news van after finishing her live shot when she said ‘Oh my God, something is wrong.'"
The Post reports that cameraman Marvin Hoffman flagged down an ambulance: "It already had a patient inside, but Hoffman insisted, 'If you don’t come and help her now, she’s going to die.'"
She was taken to New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, and station manager David Davis told the Post, "She never regained consciousness and there was no chance for survival." He added, "Her husband Todd told me today, ‘Please let everyone at the station know how much she loved working with them, she loved the people of Eyewitness News.’"
Colagrossi joined WABC 7 in 2001, on the Sunday after the September 11th attacks, after working in Orlando as an anchor for the CBS affiliate. WABC 7 notes, "In a town that's pretty tough to crack, this native Clevelander out hustled other New York reporters from the very beginning, by becoming the only reporter to get to Belle Harbor, Queens when Flight 587 crashed after takeoff from JFK Airport."
This morning, WABC 7 morning anchor Lori Stokes was emotional as she remembered Colagrossi:
Colagrossi is survived by her husband and two sons, Davis and Evan.
