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Veteran Atlanta News Anchor Amanda Davis Dies After Stroke

Amanda Davis had been a presence on Atlanta TV news for more than 25 years

Veteran Atlanta television news anchor Amanda Davis, whose achievements included launching a segment encouraging foster children adoptions and an in-depth series about her alcoholism, has died.

Davis, morning news anchor at CBS affiliate WGCL-TV, died Wednesday, a day after suffering a stroke while waiting for a flight at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, according to the station, known locally as CBS46. She was en route to San Antonio, Texas, to attend the funeral of her stepfather, CBS46 News Director Steve Doerr was quoted by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as saying.

Colleagues expressed sadness about the news on Twitter, and her death drew reaction from some of the city's most prominent people.

"Saddened to hear about the sudden passing of Atlanta news icon, Amanda Davis," Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed tweeted Wednesday night.

The city's mayor-elect, Keisha Lance Bottoms, also tweeted her condolences: "Such a beautiful person, inside & out," Bottoms wrote.

Davis' family is "asking for privacy at this difficult time," the station reported.

Davis had been a presence on Atlanta TV news for more than 25 years.

She worked at WAGA-TV for 26 years starting in 1986, when it was a CBS affiliate. It later became a Fox affiliate.

At CBS46, Davis helped launch "Good Day Atlanta" as a host in 1992 before going to evenings, and a regular segment called Wednesday's Child, which highlights foster children to be adopted each week, the Journal-Constitution reported.

In recent years, she had talked publicly about her struggles with alcohol and depression after her third arrest on DUI charges, and did an in-depth series about her alcoholism in 2016.

"The CBS46 news team is in shock," the station's news director, Steve Doerr, told the Atlanta newspaper. "No one saw this coming."

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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