Upon hearing the tragic news, she broke down crying.

Literal

Tragic-news [object-を] hear [if-と] she [topic-は] cry-collapsed.

悲報を聞くと uses the conditional と: 'upon hearing.' 泣き崩れた means 'broke down crying' — a compound verb: 泣く + 崩れる ('to crumble'). A powerful, emotive image.