Live TV is a big gamble. Reporters never know what they’ll capture at a scene, and sometimes that footage ends up going viral. That’s what happened to one West Virginia reporter who was hit by a car while doing a live, on-location broadcast at a ho-hum water main break. It quickly got exciting as real-life situations often do.
The video shows WSAZ-TV reporter Tori Yorgey reporting the breakage when a crossover pulls into the frame. Yorgey is utterly unaware of the vehicle as it quickly comes up behind her, knocking her to the ground, tipping over the camera, and violently pushing her out of frame. Yorgey is quick to keep her reporter hat on, though, describing the situation off-camera to anchor Tim Irr, who didn’t know what exactly had happened.
“I just got hit by a car, but I’m okay Tim,” she quickly says. The driver is audible in the video, profusely apologizing and asking if Yorgey is okay, who chalks up the crash to the nature of the job. “That’s live TV for you. It’s all good,” Yorgey says, adding, “I am so glad I am okay.” This wasn’t the first time a car hit her, as she mentions that it happened when she was in college, too.
Yorgey appears to be on location alone. Technology has made it possible for reporters to broadcast live without a camera operator. However, this leaves the reporter exposed to people making funny faces in the background to worrying confrontations.
Wow, this reporter gets hit by a car, and rebounds to finish the live shot! 😂 pic.twitter.com/dbwKt5N1xc
— Lee K. Howard (@HowardWKYT) January 20, 2022
How the driver missed Yorgey and her broadcast setup is a mystery, and the situation could have been so much worse, but Yorgey was uninjured. The A-pillar could have obstructed the driver’s view, but that’s absolutely no excuse for what happened. Yorgey got back up to finish the segment, reorienting the camera and moving it to a safer spot. She sounds exasperated, but she did just get hit by a car before brushing herself off and finishing the segment.
