CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins started tearing up on air towards the end of a heartbreaking interview with Andy Beyer, a man who lost his wife and daughter in last week’s Washington, D.C. airliner crash.
The emotional conversation happened on Monday night. Beyer described his wife Justyna as his “soulmate” and said his 12-year-old daughter Brielle was a “dream girl” and “social butterfly” who overcame cancer at 4 months old. “She was a joy and a gift,” he said about his daughter.
Collins choked up later in the interview, after Beyer, with his head down and tears in his eyes, said he had wanted to do the difficult interview to honor his wife and daughter. “I want people to have memory of them so that they live on,” he shared. “That’s why I wanted to share their story.”
The anchor was noticeably shaken up as she looked up to hold in tears and wiped her right eye. More than 10 seconds of airtime passed before she was able to muster a response.
“Thank you for doing so, Andy, and umm, I think everyone will be really touched to hear from you,” Collins said. “So thank you for coming on to talk about that.”
Beyer’s wife and daughter were two of 67 people who died last week when American Airlines Flight 5342 crashed into the Potomac river after colliding with an Army helicopter.
Earlier in his CNN interview, Beyer explained how he and his son knew the flight had crashed after seeing firetrucks go by their car. He also described the piercing emotional pain he has experienced in the past week.
“I go through these moments of extreme sadness and tears — then I get flat and numb and feel guilty that I’m not just crying all the time,” he said.
