A West Virginia TV reporter showed she has what it takes to get the job done when she did not interrupt a live shot even after being hit by an SUV.
Tori Yorgey of WSAZ-TV was on the scene of a water main break in Dunbar, West Virginia, on Wednesday amid weather conditions that triggered freezing and thawing. She was alone for the live show, having set up her camera herself prior to the segment.
Just as she was about to begin her live report, a white SUV entered the picture, sending Yorgey sprawling.
The camera frame showed nothing for a moment as anchor Tim Irr, uncertain of what was taking place, watched his monitor at the station.
“I just got hit by a car, and I’m OK,” Yorgey said quickly. “I just got hit by a car, but I’m OK.”
“That’s live TV for you,” she said. “I actually got hit by a car in college, too, just like that.”
“Are you sure you’re OK, Tori?” Irr said.
After repeatedly assuring someone off-screen that they were OK, as was she, she added, “Ma’am you are so sweet, and you’re OK. It’s all good.”
“It’s my last week on the job, and I think this would happen,” she said.
“I just saw you disappear off the screen,” Irr said.
After being asked where she was hit, Yorgey said she could not even recall.
“My whole life flashed before my eyes,” she said.
After the incident, she decided to move the camera to a safer spot before resuming her live report.
“Today” noted that she went to a hospital when the segment was done and was reportedly doing fine.
Yorgey, 25, is moving to Pittsburgh’s WTAE-TV as a night-time reporter effective Feb. 1, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
“I can’t even describe what telling stories does for me,” she said. “I really, really like to impact people and make a difference in their communities and try to get the best and most accurate information out to them, so they can make the best decision for their lives.”
“I love having that responsibility, and the trust I have with anyone I come in contact with is something I’ve never taken for granted and never will,” she concluded.
