Reporter Plowed By Car On Live Television, Gets Back Up Moments Later To Continue Broadcast

A young reporter at a West Virginia news show got the shock of her life when she was hit by a car during a live television report on Wednesday, Jan. 19, causing her to collapse on camera before she recovered and continued her live report like normal.

Tori Yorgey, a reporter for WSAZ-TV, was talking about a water line break during a weather report when a car crashed into where she was standing, causing her to collapse and hit her camera on live television, The Daily Beast reported.

“Oh! Oh my gosh!” she said off-camera. “I just got hit by a car!”

She then stood up promptly, righting the camera and commenting on the situation briefly on-air before she explained to the viewers at home and to anchorman Tim Irr that an SUV had just plowed through her during the live report, according to the New York Post.

“You know, that’s live TV for you. I actually got hit by a car in college, too, you know, just like that,” she said, as bystanders continued to fuss about her to make sure that she was OK.

When asked by anchorman Irr if she was OK, she replied, “I don’t even know, Tim. My whole life just flashed before my eyes but this is live TV and everything is OK,” before moving her camera to a safer position and continuing the report.

Later on, Yorgey was taken to a hospital to be checked on for possible injuries.

The incident has won Yorgey praise from her peers for the poise and dedication to duty that she showed during the incident, though Irr received some criticism for what was perceived as callousness regarding Yorgey’s incident.

“On the contrary. I couldn’t see what happened. Only audio. Then, I wasn’t truly convinced she was ok,” Tim Irr said in a tweet, attempting to explain his blase reaction.

“Trying to remain calm at the moment was not easy for all involved. But we tried to the best of our ability. In hindsight, I’m grateful they stayed with her to make sure she was indeed ok,” Irr said in a statement.

Yorgey, whose last day in the West Virginian station is on Friday, will be reporting in Pittsburgh for the television station WTAE starting Feb. 1.