Eric Wishnie, an award-winning former senior producer at NBC News, died early this morning after he was found badly injured at an intersection beneath the Greenwich Village apartment he shared with his wife, NBC News correspondent Dawn Fratangelo.

Mr. Wishnie, 45, began his career as an NBC page and worked for NBC News in a variety of positions for 19 years until leaving in September 2006.

“Eric Wishnie was an enormously talented former senior producer at NBC News, who had a hand in some of the most monumental and memorable news stories of our time. The entire NBC News family is devastated by this loss, and extends our deepest sympathies to his family,” NBC News President Steve Capus said in a statement Monday.

Although early reports described Mr. Wishnie as a victim of a hit-and-run accident, a later story by reporter Tim Minton on WNBC-TV in New York cites a police source saying detectives had come to believe Mr. Wishnie “fell off the roof of his apartment building, 50 feet above street level. According to a source with knowledge of the investigation, the victim sustained multiple trauma injuries consistent with a fall from that height. After initially suspecting that Wishnie may have been the victim of a hit-and-run driver, police have called off a search for any such motorist. Police do not believe foul play was involved.”

Mr. Wishnie was found lying on the street just before 3 a.m. and died after being taken to a hospital.

Mr. Wishnie’s awards included an Emmy Award and an Overseas Press Club Award for his coverage of the crisis in Kosovo in 1999. He also won an Emmy for his coverage of the 1993 floods in the Midwest.

He had written for former “NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Brokaw and reported for Mr. Brokaw’s best-selling book “The Greatest Generation.” He also wrote for Brian Williams, Mr. Brokaw’s successor.

“He had a remarkable talent as a producer and storyteller,” Mr. Capus said in an internal e-mail Monday. “He shaped stories with the eye of a true artist. He traveled the world with Tom Brokaw and Brian Williams and had a hand in telling some of the most monumental and memorable stories of our time: from September 11 … to international hot spots to feature stories about ‘the Greatest Generation.’

“Eric served as an informal goodwill ambassador for us on countless trips—and I can’t think of anyone who did a finer job,” Mr. Capus continued. “Always good-natured … incredibly generous with his time, support and friendship … and just so very talented. He loved to laugh … loved listening to good music … loved telling us about his dog, Lincoln … and in turn was loved by many of his colleagues.”

(Editor: Horowitz)