Former WEWS Channel 5 reporter Tony Gaskins died Tuesday morning of a heart attack. He was 56.
The station reported his death at its website: "Gaskins' family said he suffered a heart attack Sunday morning and was taken to Lakewood Hospital for treatment."
Gaskins was on the air at Channel 5 from 1988 until early 2006, starting as a general assignment reporter and later reporting on city government. He won an Emmy award in 1989 for an underground railroad special tracking the path slaves followed from the South to Ohio and into Canada.
"He was arguably best known for his deep voice, and his emphasis on the word 'news' in 'NewsChannel5,' " the Channel 5 site said of Gaskins, who most recently worked for the city of Cleveland. He is survived by his ex-wife and son.