The death of beloved “Erie News Now” anchor Emily Matson, who was hit by a train early Monday morning in Pennsylvania’s Fairview Township, has been ruled a suicide.
Matson, 42, was struck by a train at around 12.45am on Monday, Dec. 11, in Fairview Township in Erie Pennsylvania, where she lived, according to Erie County Coroner’s Office.
The Erie News Now anchor, who was married to police officer Ryan Onderko, was last on air Friday, Dec. 8, before the station announced her shocking passing on Monday.
Matson spent nearly 20 years hosting “Erie News Now,” most recently doing the 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. news.
News director Scott MacDowell confirmed with a “heavy heart” that the network had lost its veteran presenter.
“Emily was a shining light in our newsroom, delivering news with a passion and love she had for the Erie community and Northwest Pennsylvania,” he said in a statement.
Matson was first lured to WICU-TV — the NBC affiliate that hosts “Erie News Now” — as a morning show producer shortly after the start of the new millennium. A few years later, Matson found herself in front of the camera.
Former “Erie News Now” personality Paul Wagner worked with Matson until his retirement in 2020. He described her as a “very positive person” who was “always encouraging the new people.”
A funeral mass is scheduled for Saturday morning, Dec 16, at St. Jude R.C. Church in Erie.
