Chicago News Anchor, Randy Salerno, Dies in Snowmobiling Accident

Chicago morning news anchor, Randy Salerno, died on Thursday, January 24, in a snowmobiling accident near Eagle River, Wisconsin. The Vilas County sheriff's office reported that the 45-year-old anchorman was the passenger and died in the accident after the driver lost control and hit several trees. Alcohol use and speed are believed to be the cause of the accident.

The driver of the snowmobile, Scott Hirschey, sustained injuries and was flown to Marshfield, Wisconsin, to Saint Joseph's Hospital where he is in serious but stable condition. Randy Salerno was riding on the back of the motorcycle when it slid off the trail and struck a tree. As of this article, no charges have been filed. Randy Salerno had worked for Channel 2's Morning News in Chicago since September of 2004.

Recently, another news anchor died. Hugh Smith, longtime television anchor at WTVT, died on December 16, 2007 from complications of melanoma. Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer. Smith, 73, died at the Palms of Pasadena Hospital in Florida. Smith worked for WTVT for 27 years as the lead news anchor and director. Although Smith was wonderful at his job and with his leadership dominated local ratings, he was in arrested twice for soliciting prostitutes. The first time he was arrested in 1982 for soliciting an undercover policewoman, he was suspended for one week from the show. Then again in 1991 Smith was arrested for soliciting a 15-year-old prostitute for sex. He resigned from the station shortly after.

CBS News correspondent, Christopher Glenn, died of liver cancer in October 2007 at the age of 68. Glenn was a news correspondent for CBS News for 35 years and he hosted many programs and broadcasts during that time. Christopher Glenn was host for two daily editions of the Roundup and he also wrote and anchored several newscasts daily as well. Glenn was probably most known for his coverage of the 1986 explosion of the space shuttle, Challenger. Glen was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in November 2007.

Another prominent news anchor to have recently died was Hal Fishman of KTLA-TV in Los Angeles. Hal Fishman, 75, died in his home in August 2007 after only learning of his colon cancer diagnosis a week before. Fishman's colon cancer was found when he was hospitalized for a serious bacterial infection. Fishman had worked for KTLA-TV since 1975 and was also the show's morning editor. Before his death, Hal Fishman was inducted into the Guinness World Records for being the world's longest running newscaster on television.

Sources:

Chicago Tribune, Channel 2 Anchor Randy Salerno Dies In Snowmobiling Accident, Tribune Report
The Hollywood Reporter, KTLA Anchor Hal Fishman Dies, Kimberly Nordyke
CBS News, Christopher Glen Dies, CBS Broadcasting, Inc.
Tampa Bay.com, Longtime Local TV News Anchor Dies Of Melanoma, Eric Deggans