Tom Brokaw Unhurt In Fatal Car Crash (VIDEO)

NBC News' Tom Brokaw and his wife were unharmed in a fatal three-vehicle crash in New York on Friday. The network released the following statement:

Tom and Meredith Brokaw, at around 1 p.m. today, were in a three vehicle accident on the Bruckner Expressway. The Brokaws were in the far left lane when they noticed a spool of cable bouncing along the far right lane. Just then, a green SUV in the right lane came up fast and tried to avoid the cable. The driver lost control of her vehicle and slid into the middle lane, forcing a mail truck into the Brokaw lane of traffic.

As the mail truck careened into the Brokaw lane, Tom hit the brakes hard and skidded along the median. When the mail truck catapulted the median the Brokaw vehicle slid into it. Neither Tom nor Meredith were injured but tragically the driver of the SUV was thrown from her vehicle and killed. Tom and Meredith are greatly saddened by this loss of life.

MYFOXNY.com reports:

The postal truck crashed into a dividing barrier. The woman driving the SUV was thrown from her vehicle as it flipped over several times. She landed on the tracks under the Willis Avenue Bridge and was killed, officials said.

WATCH:

Comments

[OC4Obama4Pres]

01:21 PM on 12/07/2009

This woman died because she wore no seat belt and drove recklessly, taking unnecessary chances.

[RobertFromMN]

05:41 AM on 12/08/2009

There was a spool of cable bouncing down the highway. Perhaps those responsible for transporting it are at least partly to blame?? A-hole.

My condolences to the family and friends of the deceased.

[OC4Obama4Pres]

01:02 PM on 12/09/2009

Go back to he11 where you belong. Robert. If she has been wearing a seat belt she probably would have survived and you know it. Save the name-calling for your family members, jerk.

[4 Real]

03:37 PM on 12/06/2009

Last week I was driving on the interstate between CT and MA, cruising in the right lane when I noticed an SUV in the far left lose control of her SUV. She bounced off the gaurdrail and flipped over 2 times before landing on the roof right in front of my car. Fortunately I started slowing as did everyone else behind her so we all came to a stop before we hit her.
She slipped out of the passenger side window and the only reason she was not hurt was because she had a seatbelt on. It was drizzling but she appeared to have hit her brakes too hard as the traffic a mile ahead was beginning to brake. Why did she? Maybe she was distracted, who knows.
The point is, that SUV was totally out of control within seconds. It's amazing this girl survived.

[rf-hawaii]

03:34 PM on 12/06/2009

SUVs are very easy to flip without any help from outside forces.

One hard swerve easily gives that out of control feeling. Then the shocked driver gives a swerve in the opposite direction to compensate and over it goes.

[lemondade]

02:35 PM on 12/06/2009

I HEARD FROM THE NEWS MEDIA, THAT TOM'S WIFE THREW A 50" TV AT THEIR VEHICLE! SHE HEARD HE WAS SEEING ANOTHER NEWS ANCHOR AND SHE JUST WENT BEZERK. SHE GOT THE IDEA FROM TIGER WOODS WIFE.

[Margo Arrowsmith]

07:46 AM on 12/06/2009

I was driving my Jeep in the rain, and went to go to the left lane, but had to reajust when I saw a car coming up in the lane, fast. I moved to stay in the right lane and then it happened, there was no control. It was then that I discovered that these things are more unstable than cars. Well, it was when I regained consciousness with my broken neck as they got me out with the jaws of life.

Why bore you with the story? SUVs are not only more dangerous for everyone else on the road, they aren't all that safe for the people driving them. Ya, maybe if you crash into some car you will do better, but in times of road hazzards or weather, no, you aren't. I got that thing because I was told I would be safer.

And then there was the seat belt issue.

[mitsie]

09:45 AM on 12/06/2009

I always get concerned when I see the SUV's driving so fast, especially on icy or snow covered roads. I worry about their hitting our car, and because they're higher, probably preventing a near fatal or fatal accident.

I thought of the seatbelt issue, why in heck would anyone be driving on an expressway without wearing one. She might be alive today if she had, had it on.

BTW I met Tom in an antique shop in Milton, Vt a few years back. He looked sort of cute, with his wind blown hair and leather jacket, when he got out of his vintage triumph convertable.

[Margo Arrowsmith]

10:32 AM on 12/06/2009

Yes, much sexier than some SUV!

[oscartucker]

06:54 PM on 12/06/2009

I think some people driving SUVs fall for the "hype" of the tv commercials. They think that their vehicle will perform any where and under any conditions. They think that they can drive better in snow and on ice than cars. Many drivers do not slow down on rainy roads, either. No matter what, those seat belts are needed.

[rf-hawaii]

03:13 PM on 12/06/2009

Go to a junkyard sometime and see how many SUVs with crumpled roofs they have.

SUVs roll over easily. Great for the car companies for repeat sales.

[Eykis]

07:23 PM on 12/05/2009

People in SUVs think they are invincible -- sadly, SUVs do not save you on ice or make quick and abrupt road corrections well. The SUV driver must not have been wearing a seatbelt.

[Margo Arrowsmith]

07:48 AM on 12/06/2009

They are more unstable than cars. And yes you need to wear your seatbellt even when you think you are driving a tank.

[pup sydney]

05:17 PM on 12/05/2009

Who is Tom brokaw? Sounds native American is he Cherokee?

[mitsie]

09:46 AM on 12/06/2009

Seriously, you really don't know who he is? LOL now I really feel old if that's true. Maybe you should google his name.

[ramblingjohnny]

11:48 AM on 12/06/2009

Oh god! I know who Tom Brokaw!

[StillIRise]

03:52 PM on 12/05/2009

This almost happened to me last night. We were driving in the right lane on the expressway as we approached our exit. At the juncture right before our exit, cars were entering the expressway and the traffic had slowed down. I noticed in my rearview mirror a car coming up behind me at a high rate of speed.

Suddenly, she veered over into the entry lane on the right as if it was a full lane, but as she quickly found out, it wasn't ... the cars entering the expressway were merging into the right lane, but she just drove the shoulder because she was going too fast to merge or to stop.

Had I and others not seen her in our rearview mirrors, the situation may have turned out tragically for us as well. Thankfully, we were able to adjust our speed - even bringing our cars to a complete stop - to compensate for her recklessness. And she never even looked back!!!! She just sped right through the blaring horns and finger pointing and head shaking, as if we weren't even there!

I also lost a dear friend last summer because a tow-truck driver was going too fast, and when he approached the bottleneck, he was unable to stop in time, hitting the car in which my friend was riding, severing my friend's spine and killing him instantly.

An irresponsible attitude toward speed and seatbelts ... can be deadly!

[Tulka2]

04:32 PM on 12/05/2009

Stay safe. Buckle up. She very well might have survived this if she stayed in the car.

[SuiiiYllah]

08:41 PM on 12/05/2009

Thank you for bringing awareness to the fatal dangers of too much speed.

[lemondade]

03:35 PM on 12/05/2009

MY NIECE WORRIES ME. SHE IS ALWAYS TALKING ON THE CELL PHONE WHILE DRIVING WITH CHILDREN IN THE CAR. BEFORE SHE MOVED OUT OF STATE, I SPENT A LOT OF TIME WITH HER, AND SHE SCARED ME WITH HER LACK OF CONCENTRATION WHILE DRIVING. MORE THAN ONCE SHE WOULD BE IN A MALL PARKING LOT WHILE ON THE PHONE, AND WOULD RUN OVER THE BARRIERS!!! THE WORST THING WAS THAT IT DIDN'T EVEN PHASE HER.

ALSO, I ONCE WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AND A WOMAN WAS ENTERING ON A RAMP, A CELL PHONE IN ONE HAND AND A SMOKE IN THE OTHER: SHE WAS ACTUALLY DRIVING WITH HER ELBOWS. NEEDLESS TO SAY, I POURED ON THE GAS AND MOVED INTO THE FURTHEST LANE.

I AM A FEMALE. THERE ARE A LOT OF MEN WHO ARE GUILTY OF THE SAME.

[KIVPossum]

04:20 PM on 12/05/2009

Please quit shouting at us.

[rabiddog6708]

02:43 PM on 12/05/2009

If the lady driving the SUV was wearing her seat belt, she might still be here today. It is such a little thing to do, but fastening it saves lives.

[Palafox]

02:38 PM on 12/05/2009

We'll have to wait for the David Broder article to know what really happened.

[Okieborn]

01:37 PM on 12/05/2009

I just wonder were any golf clubs or drinking involved !!

[talkingdog]

03:23 PM on 12/05/2009

No, but they will investigate her, and interview her neighbors, and in the end,..issue her a wreckless driving citation more than likely for like $164.00.......stuff like that.

[MJHammonds]

05:31 PM on 12/06/2009

Not likely. She di.ed.

[pj-smith]

11:51 AM on 12/05/2009

A spool of cable in the right lane.....
Dont' blame the woman, the SUV or cellphone.
Blame the irresponsible driver who let that fall of his truck for garsakes.

The NYC roads, especially that Bruckner EXpressway, are treacherous.

[Agent420]

12:34 PM on 12/05/2009

If she had been wearing her seat belt the story would have had a much better ending.

[Meggie]

01:09 PM on 12/05/2009

Agree. Somebody knows which truck this fell from.
Disagree with passing on right and using cellphone, though.

[WindySailor]

10:48 AM on 12/05/2009

I continue to maintain that the two most dangerous combinations in a vehicle are (1) a drunken teenager driving anything, and (2) a woman driving an SUV, especially if she is talking on a cellphone. There is no explanation for the stupid things that they do.

[hotcognition]

12:11 PM on 12/05/2009

Actually, men and woman are about equally likely to be the driver in a car accident, but men are more likely to be in fatal car crashes. There is no explanation for unfounded sexist claims people make. Go peddle your ignorant stereotypes elsewhere please...

[WindySailor]

02:04 PM on 12/07/2009

Go peddle your thin skin elsewhere. I am not a sexist in nearly any regard, but I will not back down on this.

A large percentage of men are stupid drivers in any circumstance, in any vehicle. When I encounter the tail-gaters, weavers and left lane blitzkriegers, I work to get distance from them.

The vast majority of women driving sedans appear to me to drive intelligently, within the law, and with good manners. Women driving SUVs, in contrast, seem far more likely to be on some kind of power trip.

Of course no one driving while using a cell phone is driving with a proper amount of care and concentration.

[Meggie]

01:10 PM on 12/05/2009

Won't ask where the "wind" emits from, "sailor" as your post explains it all.

[CintiBlue]

10:45 AM on 12/05/2009

A few years ago I was driving up to Northern Michigan. Pulled out to pass on the left, not a heavily travelled road, and there was a bale of hay in the middle of the high-speed lane. Point being, you have got to pay attention all the time while driving.

[ontariogirl]

12:01 PM on 12/05/2009

A transport truck dislodged a huge slab of ice off the top of his truck while I was driving on the highway last winter. It was about 20 feet X 6 feet and at least 6 inches deep. Huge. It was like it was flying through the air in slow motion.....I was mesmerized because I was in shock. I slowed down just in time for it to hit the groud in front of my car and smash into pieces. It was scarey. It would have crushed my car. Its true you have to be on alert all the time. A former boss of mine insisted I carry a cellphone (tracking device) even though I drive standard. My safety and others on the road is not worth being distracted over. My condolences for this family.

[CintiBlue]

12:19 PM on 12/05/2009

Just reading your comment put my heart in my throat. No one's fault, just a part of daily transport - but how terrorizing for you. Yes, high alert while driving.

And I add to you condolences.

[VOTER]

01:12 PM on 12/05/2009

A few years ago, my cousin and his friend were driving home from a trip in Wisconsin
when a truck carrying huge logs lost part of its load and created a
a horrible accident.

Both needed hospitalization. One has had 4 operations due to injuries and
will need another one early 2010.

While accidents can happen & through no one's fault, it was discovered the person
responsible for locking the lumber in place didn't use all of the locks provided.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The hay bale you mentioned is a reminder for all drivers on country roads
to be especially careful if the land is hilly or the roads curvy.

Assume at the bend of the curve or at the top of the hill, you may well
meet up with a huge, slow moving, piece of farm equipment.

[CintiBlue]

03:07 PM on 12/05/2009

Well said, VOTER!