Photo: Thomas Meier / Pixabay
A TV reporter in West Virginia surprised viewers during a live broadcast, when she was hit by a vehicle, but recovered to finish her report.
“Oh my God! I just got hit by a car, but I’m fine. I just got hit by a car, but I’m fine, Tim,” WSAZ-TV reporter Tori Yorgey told host Tim Irr, just after a pickup truck hit it at the site where a water pipe broke.
“Well, that’s a first for you on TV, Tori. ”, Irr told the intrepid reporter, who quickly picked up her camera, after tripping over it during Wednesday’s incident.
Maybe It was his first time on television, but not his first vehicular mishap.
“That’s live TV for you. Everything is fine,” said the optimistic Yorgey, who was apparently reporting alone at the scene. “I actually got hit by a car in college too, just like that. I’m so glad I’m okay.”
The driver who had just hit her was heard apologizing, but Yorgey assured him that she was fine.
“Ma’am, it’s so sweet and it’s fine”, he told her.
Meanwhile, Irr asked Yorgey where she had been hit.
“I don’t even know, Tim,” she replied. “My whole life flashed before my eyes, but this is live TV and everything is fine.”
Yorgey added, “I thought I was on a safe place, but clearly we might need to move the camera around a bit.”
The reporter concluded the news segment after the accident, assuring viewers and the driver that she was fine.
“But again, Tim, we’ll get back to the report, right? We are on Roxalana Hills Driver in Dunbar. This is where the main water break is,” he continued.
The video went viral and users praised Yorgey for his toughness and dedication to duty, while some criticized Irr for his apparent lack of concern.
The host then explained his relatively nonchalant reaction.
“On the contrary. I couldn’t see what happened. Only audio. So, I wasn’t really convinced she was okay,” Irr said in a tweet. I was worried,” he wrote.
“Trying to remain calm at this time was not easy for everyone involved. But we tried the best we could. In hindsight, I appreciate that they stayed with her to make sure she was really okay,” Irr added.
He also said that Yorgey was taken to a hospital to get checked out, just in case.
“Scary moment for Tori,” she wrote. “She is young, but she is a professional for sure.”
Yorgey also mentioned that his last day at the station is Friday.
“I cannot even begin to describe the privilege and pleasure I have had in bringing news to your homes for the last three years,” he wrote on Facebook before the incident.
“The people in this Tri-State are truly amazing, some of the sweetest I have ever met. From offering me coffee on cold days to helping me carry my gear, I always say that the friendliest people live here, and it’s true,” he added. Beginning February 1, Yorgey will work for ABC affiliate station WTAE in Pittsburgh.
Read more
VIDEO: TV presenter in Mexico calls anti-vaccines “imbeciles” and shouts: “Stop screwing up the world”VIDEO: Journalist in Argentina faints in full live broadcast
VIDEO: Man pretends to be a human rights analyst and throws mother’s comments during a live program