Morning anchor collapses during live broadcast
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LOS ANGELES, California — A scary moment for a news show in California Saturday morning.
Alissa Carlson Schwartz, the meteorologist for Los Angeles CBS affiliate KCAL Morning News, collapsed as her fellow anchors were getting ready to toss it over to her.
During a split screen, Schwartz is seen leaning forward and putting her hands on the desk. Her eyes roll back as her head falls forward. She immediately falls to the floor after making contact with the desk.
In a moment of confusion, anchors Nichelle Medina and Rachel Kim quickly cut to commercial.
The broadcast did not resume, according to Mediaite. After eight minutes of commercials, the station picked up network programming.
CBS Los Angeles Vice President and News Director Mike Dello Stritto explained what happened in a statement to TMZ.
“Our colleague Alissa Carlson became ill during our 7 a.m. newscast this morning. I want to thank her co-workers who took immediate action to comfort Alissa and call 911. Alissa is being treated at the hospital right now. Hopefully we’ll know more shortly. In the meantime, Alissa will be in our thoughts and we’re praying for her to be feeling much better soon.”
Schwartz had reportedly been suffering from a heart-related issue, but in a comment posted to her Facebook page Sunday afternoon, she explains “it’s not my heart this time.” She did not elaborate on the reason for her collapse.
“Thanks for all the kind wishes as I recover from a head injury. I am out of the hospital and doing ok. Lots of sleeping and even some pizza,” she wrote.
Watch what happened in the video above.