A Central Texas news anchor broke down as she tearfully remembered her late co-anchor, who died suddenly.

Lindsay Liepman of NBC affiliate KCEN-TV in Waco and Temple couldn’t finish the news on Wednesday, Oct. 30, after informing viewers of the death of her co-host Kris Radcliffe, who died earlier that day at the age of 30. of 51.

“This is an incredibly sad day for our KCEN family,” Liepman began. “My co-host Kris Radcliffe died unexpectedly and we received the news today. Kris was sitting next to me in the chair and he was the best, he was just the best. best.”

As Liepman continued to remember her beloved colleague, her voice began to break.

“Funny, genuine and smart. I looked forward to working with Kris every night and I think you all could tell at home,” she said. “We had fun here. Kris loved this community and never took his role for granted.”

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She added, “If I had known that yesterday would be our last newscast together, I would have ignored our producers’ cues and just laughed at all his jokes a little longer. He always has a lot of jokes.”

The anchor also recognized Radcliffe – who worked at the station for 22 years – for his impact on the station.

“I would have thanked him for everything he taught me and gave to all of you, the viewers, but life doesn’t work that way,” Liepman continued. “What you don’t get to see on air is the time you spend talking about our families and our group chats. He liked to talk about sports and politics. It was important for me to share what he meant to us here at KCEN in this moment because I know he would have done the same for me.

Liepman went on to express her thoughts and prayers to Kris’ wife, Eden, and their two daughters and two grandchildren, who “idolized” the journalist.

“Every time he came into the newsroom, he had a new story about his grandchildren,” Liepman said.

She then told the audience that she was leaving the broadcast. “I just can’t make it through the news tonight and I hope you understand,” she said.

Before the network’s sister station in Austin took over the newscast for the emotional anchor, KCEN showed highlights from Radcliffe’s career.

A native of California, Radcliffe arrived at the station in 2002 as a sports anchor. The award-winning journalist later transitioned to anchoring the evening news in 2018.

“This is a real loss for our community, his family, and I know he touched so many of your lives in a positive way. I think it was an honor for him to do this work, it was an honor for us to work with Kris,” said Liepman.