The Conversation (0)
Liam O'Dell
Jan 20, 2022
Reporter gets hit by car on live TV and continues with report
WSAZ
Shocking footage was captured in West Virginia on Wednesday night when a journalist was hit by a car during a live TV report.
Tori Yorgey, from WSAZ, was covering a water main break in the city of Dunbar while a car drove into her from behind, knocking both her and her camera to the ground.
“I just got hit by a car, but I’m OK … Yeah, you know, that’s live TV for you.
“It’s all good. I actually got hit by a car in college too just like that,” Ms Yorgey said after the collision, adding that it was her last week working for the station and “I think this would happen”.
Meanwhile in the studio, presenter Tim Irr first appeared nonplussed by the incident – apparently because he was unable to view the live feed of Ms Yorgey being hit by the vehicle.
“That’s a first for you on TV, Tori … Are you sure you’re OK, Tori? Are you sure you’re OK?
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“Were you bumped down low, Tori, or were you hit up high? I couldn’t really tell from looking at you … I didn’t see, you disappear on the screen,” he said.
As Mr Irr tried to ascertain what was happening on the ground, Ms Yorgey was seen talking to the female driver off-screen who was speaking to her after the accident, telling the individual that she was “so sweet” and “it is all good”.
She continued: “I don’t even know, Tim. My whole life just flashed before my eyes, but this is live TV and everything’s OK.
“I thought I was in a safe spot but clearly, we might need to move the camera over a bit.”
While Ms Yorgey readjusted and repositioned the camera, Mr Irr explained there is “a lot of confusion” from drivers of emergency vehicles “about where to go” when there’s a water main break.
Once Ms Yorgey had just about regained her composure – as much as you can after being hit by a car – she said: “That woman was so nice, though. She knew me and said it was an accident, I know it was, and I’m OK. Everything’s fine.
“But again, Tim, we’ll get back to the report, right? We’re on Roxalana Hills Driver in Dunbar. This is where that water main break is and this is what happens sometimes in these cold weathers.”
Twitter users were quick to heap praise and well wishes onto Ms Yorgey following the “harrowing” incident:
to be clear I will not tolerate Tim Irr slander on this timeline, his monitor is a teleprompter and not showing him what is on the air and thus he had no idea what had happened— Timothy Burke (@Timothy Burke) 1642656389
"you know this happened to me in college as well"\n\n"it's my last week on the job"\n\numm... maybe use some vacation days for that last week?— Dad Jokes Panda (@Dad Jokes Panda) 1642655886
Omg\u2026 \u201cthis happened to me in college\u201d within 5 seconds of getting hit.. legendary— Justin Kanew (@Justin Kanew) 1642655085
Emmy award for sure— Joel Mandelbaum (@Joel Mandelbaum) 1642659337
She\u2019s not ok. She will feel it in a few hours. How does a driver not see camera lights.— I've gone Feral. Factotum (@I've gone Feral. Factotum) 1642656139
Hit by a car twice, she might be a superhero— Kevin Sarge (@Kevin Sarge) 1642654875
She better get checked out anyway— dwinfrey72 \ud83c\udf34\ud83c\udf79 (@dwinfrey72 \ud83c\udf34\ud83c\udf79) 1642655479
If you just go down the list of replies, retweets, etc... you will find that there are essentially zero local journalists surprised that she is in this situation. Everyone sad. No one shocked. This is how reporters are treated.— Cameron Derby (@Cameron Derby) 1642659294
\u201cDon\u2019t mind me, Tim, just got T-Boned by a van!\u201d\nTim:pic.twitter.com/4PZeA6HGnx— Brooke Preston (@Brooke Preston) 1642655475
She got hit by a car doing a live shot. What a trooper\u2026https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1484027271753183234\u00a0\u2026— Rex Chapman\ud83c\udfc7\ud83c\udffc (@Rex Chapman\ud83c\udfc7\ud83c\udffc) 1642661907
Others condemned the TV station’s actions around getting a female reporter to do a “solo live shot” and failing to cut away after the collision:
they should have immediately cut the feed. this doesn\u2019t need to be on the air and she should not have had to uncomfortably laugh off an incredibly dangerous situation.— Laynie (@Laynie) 1642657058
Why did they not cut away after she got hit??? She did a great job keeping it together but\u2026she got hit by a car and was expected to keep reporting.— Ben Speicher (@Ben Speicher) 1642654801
why did they make her stay live for so long lol— Lindsey Adler (@Lindsey Adler) 1642655967
So she\u2019s one-man banding by herself at night?— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) 1642657350
Also why the heck aren't there TV monitors so the anchors can see what is being shown on TV?? I thought that was a normal thing that stations have in their studios.— Anthony D'Agostino (@Anthony D'Agostino) 1642659104
a lot of issues here that really highlight my frustration with certain things in the news industry. I\u2019m just happy she\u2019s well & off to another station. But for (some) newsroom managers - let\u2019s use this as a lesson. Safety in the field is most important.https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1484027271753183234\u00a0\u2026— Frederick Price (@Frederick Price) 1642669339
This is makes me ill. Running her own liveshot on the side of the road at night, instead of cutting her feed immediately when she\u2019s hit & the camera goes down the station leaves her up live to keep reporting after being hit by car ??? I just\u2026worry about what TV news has become.https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1484027271753183234\u00a0\u2026— Kylen Mills (@Kylen Mills) 1642661697
Tori, I really, really hope you\u2019re okay. Not only was having her out alone in the dark, in dangerous weather conditions irresponsible but to keep the live shot going after SHE GOT HIT BY A CAR?? So many things wrong here.https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1484027271753183234\u00a0\u2026— Samantha Rivera (@Samantha Rivera) 1642660206
This is just ANOTHER reason why no reporter should go LIVE alone. I'm so glad Tori is ok, she's a true superstar for powering through this live hit. She deserves time off and to be checked out by a doctor @WSAZnewshttps://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1484027271753183234\u00a0\u2026— Lauren Scharf (@Lauren Scharf) 1642658595
this is a really harrowing clip\n\nand it\u2019s a good opportunity to remind people that in most markets, TV reporters are solo, shooting, editing, lighting and doing everything else themselves, while being paid little to do it. it\u2019s a safety hazard.https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1484027271753183234\u00a0\u2026— Sopan Deb (@Sopan Deb) 1642657367
We hope Ms Yorgey’s last few days in her current role are a little calmer.
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