Wounded CBS reporter transferred to Germany
Injured by blast that killed 4, Dozier briefly regained consciousness in flight
 Alex Grimm / Reuters U.S. Air Force medical personnel carry CBS correspondent Kimberly Dozier on a stretcher out of an aircraft into an ambulance bus at Ramstein air base in southwestern Germany on Tuesday. |
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LANDSTUHL, Germany - A CBS News correspondent seriously wounded by a car bomb that killed two colleagues in Iraq briefly regained consciousness during a flight to Germany, where she will be treated at a U.S. military hospital, the network said Tuesday.
Kimberly Dozier was being treated at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center for injuries to her head and legs and was in critical but stable condition, the “CBS Evening News” reported.
CBS said Dozier, a 39-year-old American, underwent two operations in Baghdad before being transferred to Landstuhl, the U.S. military’s largest medical facility abroad. Vice President Sandy Genelius told The Associated Press that Dozier was expected to stay at Landstuhl for several days.
“We are encouraged by reports from her doctors,” Genelius said. “Generally, it’s positive in that she’s certainly stable and the doctors are feeling more positive than they have been.”
Col. W. Bryan Gamble said Dozier was responsive during the flight, opening her eyes and moving her toes as she was transferred, but that it was too soon to speculate on her recovery.
“It’s really hard right now to ascertain how much of a recovery period she will need and what the extent of her rehabilitation will be, it’s really too early into the process of the trauma to know that right now,” Gamble said.
‘Critically wounded’
“She was critically wounded from the ... blast, but right now she is doing as well as can be expected,” he said, adding that Dozier was expected to undergo several other routine operations.
Medical officials are awaiting the arrival of her family, expected Wednesday, to decide when she would be transferred to the United States, Gamble said.
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The explosion occurred on the same day a series of blasts killed at least 40 people in Iraq and wounded dozens more in the worst wave of violence to hit Baghdad in days.
CBS News reported on its Web site that the three journalists were embedded with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division when a nearby car packed with explosives detonated, the network said. All three journalists were riding in an armored Humvee, CBS said, and were believed to have been wearing protective gear.
“Our deepest sympathy goes out to the families of Paul and James, and we are hoping and praying for a complete recovery by Kimberly,” CBS News President Sean McManus said in a statement.
‘Veterans of war coverage’
Douglas, 48, a British national based in London, had worked for CBS News since the early 1990s in places including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Rwanda and Bosnia. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and three grandchildren, CBS said.
Brolan, 42, who also was based in London, had worked with CBS News during the last year in Iraq and Afghanistan as a freelancer. The British citizen leaves behind his wife of 20 years, Geri, and two children — 18-year-old Sam and 12-year-old Agatha.
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“James had a natural way with people and was always in demand as the person to go with to the world’s trouble spots; always putting the locals at ease, winning friends everywhere he went and always putting in his best effort,” his family said in a statement.
In addition to her time in Iraq, Dozier also had worked as the chief correspondent for WCBS-TV New York’s Middle East bureau in Jerusalem, and previously as London bureau chief and chief European correspondent for CBS Radio News.
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