。
She broke down in tears at the news.
Literal
She [topic-は] that news [object-を] hearing [then-て] broke-down-crying.
泣き崩れる ('break down crying, collapse in tears') is a compound verb 泣く ('cry') + 崩れる ('crumble, collapse') — the imagery is of someone literally crumpling under the weight of grief. Stronger than plain 泣く: it captures the collapse-into-tears moment, often physically (kneeling, slumping). Common in dramatic narration of bereavement, devastating news, or emotional release. The te-form 聞いて links the news to the breakdown in a tight causal arc.