Andrew Koppel, Son of Veteran Broadcaster, Found Dead

Tragedy has struck the family of veteran journalist Ted Koppel.

The broadcaster's 40-year old son, Andrew Koppel, was found dead early this morning in New York City.

An attorney for the city Housing Authority, Andrew was discovered in a Washington Heights apartment, where he was brought earlier in the evening by Russell Wimberly, a waiter he had met at a Hell's Kitchen bar on Monday afternoon.

Koppel "was just really messed up when he came in. He was very drunk," Belinda Caban, a resident of the apartment building, told The New York Post.

Caban said she and Wimberly called 911 after they found Andrew Koppel had urinated and defecated in the bed he passed out in. Medical personal announced him dead at the scene.

According to Wimberly, Andrew started his drinking binge around noon at Smith's Bar & Restaurant at 44th Street and Ninth Avenue. That's where the pair met, drinking whiskey and making small talk before moving from bar-to-bar.

"There was a lot of alcohol. He didn't take anything else [drugs] around me, and neither of us ate all day," Wimberly told the newspaper. "We talked about our kids... He said he had a kid and loved [her] a lot."

Andrew lived with his girlfriend and their daughter.

He was the third youngest of Ted Koppel's four children with wife Grace Anne. The Nightline host is yet to comment on the incident and our thoughts go out to his family.