SPARTANBURG, SC - A former reporter for 40/29 Television was killed on assignment in South Carolina this weekend, while covering hazardous weather conditions for his employer. Mike McCormick, who covered the Fort Smith area for the television station from 2005 to 2007 died when a tree fell on the SUV that he was driving.
Also killed was Aaron Smeltzer, who was serving as McCormick’s photographer during the assignment.
Tryon, South Carolina Fire Chief Geoffrey Tennant told WYFF Television that McCormick had just departed from an interview with him prior to the accident.
“It personally affected me a little bit because I had done an interview with Mr. McCormick about 10 minutes before we got the call. And we had talked a little bit about how he wanted us to stay safe and I wanted him to stay safe and of course 10 or 15 minutes later we got the call and it was him and his photographer,” Tennant said. “It’s the first time I ever met either one of those two gentleman, but you feel a sense of responsibility to them.”
A graduate of the University of Miami, McCormick was an avid cook and was fond of his two rescue dogs which he adopted from a South Carolina humane society.
Tennant said that the station SUV was running with the transmission in drive when it was found by emergency crews around 2:30 PM Monday afternoon.