Chicago TV news anchor Randy Salerno killed in accident
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Ch. 2 anchor dies in crash
WIS. TRAGEDY | Friend who drove snowmobile faces homicide charge, DUI
allegation
January 27, 2008
BY ANDREW HERRMANN Staff Reporter aher...@suntimes.com
A boyhood friend of WBBM-Channel 2 news anchor Randy Salerno was
accused Friday of killing the television personality in an alcohol-
related snowmobiling accident in northern Wisconsin.
Salerno died Thursday night when a snowmobile he was riding on slammed
into trees after a dinner with friends, officials said.
"I don't know what we're going to do without him,'' said his morning
and midday co-anchor, Roseanne Tellez. "He was one of a kind."
Salerno, 45, a resident and native of far northwest suburban Crystal
Lake, was riding on a snowmobile on Plum Lake near Sayner, Wis., about
90 miles north of Wausau.
Scott D. Hirschey, 44, of Crystal Lake, was driving the snowmobile. He
was arrested on allegations of homicide by intoxicated use of a
vehicle, said Vilas County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Joe Fath.
Formal homicide charges will likely not be filed until later this
week, said Vilas County District Attorney Albert Moustakis.
Salerno and Hirschey have known each other since second grade, said
Salerno's wife, Irene. Even as Salerno left the state for a time
before rising to Chicago television stardom and Hirschey remained in
Crystal Lake working in construction, the two remained close. Last
summer, they shared Little League baseball coaching duties. Hirschey
is the godfather of Salerno's son.
"Two buddies having a good time -- to have it end this way . . . it's
unbelievable,'' said Salerno's high school basketball coach, Gary
Collins.
Hirschey, who was in fair condition at a hospital in Marshfield, Wis.,
is said to be devastated.
"I'm sure Scott would change places with Randy in a second if he
could,'' said Irene Salerno, who added that she has no animosity
toward her husband's friend.
"It was just a horrible accident,'' she said.
Salerno flew to the area with friends Thursday on a private plane,
Channel 2 said. The accident occurred after one of the snowmobiles
broke down while the group was returning to the Eagle River Inn and
Resort about 11:30 p.m., after dinner. Hirschey agreed to drive a
snowmobile designed for one passenger with Salerno riding on back. The
snowmobile slid off a trail, throwing Hirschey off, while Salerno
"took the full force of impact" when it hit several trees, Channel 2
said.
Channel 2 devoted its 11 a.m. Friday newscast, which Salerno usually
co-anchored, to his death, with colleagues remembering him fondly.
Reporter Susan Carlson, who delivers traffic reports on the morning
show, said that while Salerno could be dry-witted, "if you had a
personal thing that was going on in your life that was difficult, Mr.
Sarcasm would be the one to send you a touching card. I don't think he
wanted that to get out."
Nearly 6-foot-6, Salerno was a star basketball player at Crystal Lake
South High School. He was named most valuable player and elected to
the school's Hall of Fame in 1981, said boyhood friend Chuck Ahsmann.
Besides his wife, Irene, whom he met while she was a producer at WGN-
TV, a Channel 2 spokeswoman said, he is survived by Haley, 13, a
daughter from his wife's earlier marriage; daughter, Slone, 9, and son
Charlie, 7. Other survivors include his parents, a brother and a
sister.
© Copyright 2008 Digital Chicago, Inc.
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posts hereto, given that his image not only was familiar to
Chicagoland audiences, but the entire national cable community, given
the "superstation" status that WGN/Chicago has enjoyed since the early
80s. (Salerno was at WGN/9 longer than he'd been at the higher-
profile-in-the-market WBBM/CBS2.)
I worked for a while with Salerno at WGN, and found he was a genial
fellow for whom to write. What I remember about him more than his
6'5" stature was his confident stride (which one of his WBBM
colleagues also noted in an on-air tribute), especially when walking
toward the studio before a newscast. More than once he commented to
me that he appreciated the more-sophisticated-than-standard-TV style I
employed in the copy I'd write for him.
What I never realized while working there was that he had grown up in
the market, and spent almost his entire career there.
Sincerely,
BRYAN STYBLE/Seattle
KIRO Newstalk Radio Weekends
www.RadioactiveSeattle.blogspot.com