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Breaking News: Black TV Anchor Lauren Crowner dead at 25

Washington, DC -- August 24, 2006 -- (BlackPressMagazine.com) Lauren Crowner, a former Indiana television journalist who went on to become a news anchor in Ohio, died today after developing an infection following a July 31 car accident. She was 25.

Crowner and other fallen Black journalists will be remembered at the 2nd Annual Black Press All Stars Awards in Baltimore, MD on Sept. 15-17, 2006.

A former Indianapolis 500 Festival queen and reporter at the NBC television station in Columbus, Ohio, has died after she developed an infection following a car accident. Crowner suffered from severe headaches after a car accident July 31 and then developed an infection because of swelling on her brain, according to a report from WISH in Indianapolis, a sister station of WLFI in Lafayette, where Crowner previously worked. She was also previously an intern at WTHR in Indianapolis. Crowner worked at WCMH in Columbus since January.

"From day one, Lauren's spirit, enthusiasm and intelligence permeated the station," said Craig Robinson, NBC 4 President and General Manager. "She quickly became one of the best-loved members of our team, and we are immeasurably diminished by her passing. Our prayers are with her family and friends, whose loss we can't begin to imagine."

When she joined NBC 4, Lauren said her most memorable moment on the job was meeting the many survivors of Hurricane Katrina who were displaced from their homes and reporting their stories of survival. "It put everything in perspective as both a journalist and a person," she said.

In her station biography, Crowner said she really couldn't imagine doing anything other than being in the news business. "It may sound cliché, but my parents and I always knew I'd end up in journalism," she said. "I talked too much as a kid not to."

"Lauren was a true treasure," said WCMH News Director Stan Sanders. "She loved life and helping her co-workers, friends and young people. Her passion for journalism was pure and she always strived to do her best, each and every day. Her spirit and positive approach to everything was inspiring; she will be missed by all."

Crowner graduated from Indiana University, where she received her journalism degree and minored in Spanish, and was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. She is survived by her mother Kathryn Crowner-Coleman, her father Lionel R. Crowner, her stepfather Larry Coleman, her sister Evher, a niece and nephew and her prized dog, Angel.

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