PITTSBURGH - One day after a house exploded in Plum, the region was rocked by a second deadly explosion that claimed the life of beloved KDKA Political Editor Jon Delano.
The explosion occurred at 5:37 pm, during a report about how the Democratic presidential candidates will soon descend upon western Pennsylvania. Mr. Delano, whose voice had been high and trembling with excitement throughout the report, soon became even more agitated. While talking about "a Pennsylvania primary that will finally count toward a nomination," Mr. Delano began to twitch and seize in his chair. The veteran reporter's face flushed, his eyes bulged noticeably behind his glasses, and a manic smile spread across his face. Then his head exploded.
Slow-motion replays of the incident reveal that Mr. Delano's last words were "Barack Obama."
The explosion, which occurred during KDKA's five o'clock newscast, was inadvertently broadcast live to hundreds of thousands of homes in the tri-state area. Because the story concerned national politics and, at the time of the explosion, had lasted more than two-and-a-half minutes, it's believed that only about a dozen viewers actually saw Mr. Delano's demise.
"It's such a terrible tragedy," said KDKA news anchor Patrice King Brown. "Jon was as giddy as a big, scary schoolgirl ever since the Texas and Ohio primaries. It's a shame to see his dream blown up -- I mean, cut short -- like this."
Ken Rice, the anchor who introduced Mr. Delano just before the explosion, noted that his colleague was so excited to cover the upcoming Pennsylvania primary that he "could hardly contain himself. But I guess you could tell that from the footage."
