WCCO-TV's Darcy Pohland dies
Darcy Pohland, a veteran WCCO-TV reporter who made a career of broadcasting despite an accident that left her paralyzed and using a wheelchair, has died. She was 48.
Pohland's caregiver found her Friday morning in her Minneapolis home, WCCO-TV spokeswoman Kiki Rosatti said.
Several of Pohland's colleagues said on WCCO-AM that Pohland had not been feeling well the previous night when a few colleagues visited her at home.
Pohland broke her neck in the summer of 1983 when she dove into the shallow end of a swimming pool. She had been an intern at WCCO-TV before her accident, and in 1986 returned to a part-time off-camera job. But in 1994 she convinced station managers to let her report from her wheelchair.
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Pohland had limited movement of her arms and was able to use adaptive devices to carry out essential functions such as typing, WCCO-TV news director Scott Libin said. Her co-workers would routinely help her with things such as clipping a microphone on for a live shot or helping her with her coat, he said.
But he said Pohland's limitations didn't define her.
"Darcy was not a quadriplegic reporter," Libin said. "She was a reporter who had a passion for Minnesota sports and a lot of dear friends and a great resume, and also by the way a disability."
Pohland was a Mendota Heights native, and a graduate of Sibley High School and the University of Minnesota.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
