A veteran reporter at a Washington, DC, TV station has died due to complications from a recent cardiac arrest, the news outlet said Wednesday.
Derrick Ward, who had worked for NBC4 Washington since 2006, was 62 years old.
“It is with profound sadness and heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved Derrick Ward, Sr.,” his family said in a statement.
“As a distinguished journalist, Derrick’s storytelling, prolific writing, warmth, and humor touched countless lives. Our children and our entire family will miss him dearly.”
The DC native began his career as a radio journalist at local stations before moving to television – covering stories throughout that included the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon and the DC sniper attacks in 2002.
As a radio journalist, Ward worked for WPFW, WAMU and WTOP. He made his television debut at WKBW-TV in Buffalo, New York before returning to DC to join NBC4 Washington in 2006.
“Derrick was News4’s resident DC historian and poet. He had a way with words and music. He shined when he had a pen, a microphone, or guitar in his hands,” NBC4 and Telemundo Washington said in a statement. “Derrick loved serving the people of Washington through his reporting. His impact on the community will sorely be missed.”
Ward was raised in the Marshall Heights and H Street Corridor area of DC. He lived through the 1968 riots after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination – later recalling his experience for a 40th anniversary special produced by NBC4 Washington, according to the outlet. He graduated from the University of Maryland.
His NBC4 colleagues took to X to pay tribute to the reporter on Wednesday.
“Heartbroken at the loss of a great friend and colleague. @DerrickWard4 was a brilliant writer and journalist who loved reporting on his hometown,” NBC4 Washington reporter Mark Segraves wrote in a post.
Heartbroken at the loss of a great friend and colleague. @DerrickWard4 was a brilliant writer and journalist who loved reporting on his hometown. Derrick was also a fabulous musician. R-I-P brother, we’ll take it from here. @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/7jsElAACVb
— Mark Segraves (@SegravesNBC4) January 8, 2025
“Derrick was also a fabulous musician,” he added, posting a photo of Ward playing the guitar on stage with a band. “R-I-P brother, we’ll take it from here.”
NBC4 reporters recalled Ward’s friendly attitude and smile.
“Derrick greeted everyone with a welcoming smile and a warm laugh,” Tracee Wilkins, an investigative reporter at the outlet, wrote in a post. “He was a dedicated dad, a wonderful colleague, a stellar journalist, and a gifted guitar player.”
Paul Wagner, who worked with Ward at WTOP in the late 1990s as well as NBC, said the late journalist always greeted him with a “Hey, Wags!” that “always made me smile.”
“He was always so nice to me and everyone he met,” NBC4 reporter Aimee Cho wrote in a post on X. “I loved shadowing him when I was an intern, and learned so much about writing, history, and life from him.”
Ward leaves behind his three children, Derrick Jr., Ian, and Marisa.
