A soon-to-be WTAE-TV reporter has gone viral for an incident that occurred live on the air during her last week at her current West Virginia station.
Tori Yorgey, a 25-year-old Philadelphia-area native and Penn State University graduate, was doing a live shot late Wednesday night for her current employer, WSAZ-TV in Charleston, W.Va., when she was hit by a car in the middle of reporting on a water main break in Dunbar, W.Va.
"We're good, Tim." pic.twitter.com/9kn2YElDLK
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) January 20, 2022
“I just got hit by a car, but I’m OK!” Yorgey immediately exclaimed. “I just got hit by a car, but I’m OK, Tim! We’re all good!”
The “Tim” she was referring to was WSAZ anchor and reporter Tim Irr, who was in the studio ready to talk water mains when Yorgey was struck by that car. As he later described in a series of tweets, all Irr had in front of him was a teleprompter and a small monitor about 20 feet away from his desk, so he didn’t immediately realize what happened to Yorgey until she got up and said she was fine.
“That’s a first for you on TV, Tori,” was Irr’s immediate response.
Yorgey somehow managed to bounce back up pretty quickly, though she remained off camera while regaining her composure. A woman’s voice could be heard in the background asking how she was doing.
“That’s live TV for you. It’s all good,” an exasperated Yorgety said. “I actually got hit by a car in college, too, just like that. I’m so glad I’m OK!”
She described her situation on that live shot as being “a one-woman band,” meaning she did not have a photographer or anyone else from her station with her as she set up that live shot. In the aftermath of Yorgey’s experience going viral, many broadcast reporters expressed their disdain for WSAZ allowing an on-air journalist to do live shots alone.
Yorgey is set to join WTAE-TV as a Tuesday-through-Saturday nighttime reporter starting Feb. 1.
“You know it’s my last week on the job, and I think this would happen specifically to me, Tim,” Yorgey quipped.
As of Thursday morning, Yorgey has yet to publicly comment on that harrowing on-air moment. Her final thoughts on the matter from that video: “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.”
Last week, the Post-Gazette spoke to Yorgey about her impending move to Pittsburgh and WTAE. She said she is “excited to see what the Steel City has to offer” and talked about how seriously she takes her reporting duties, which anyone who watches that video can now easily see for themselves.
“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,” Yorgey told the Post-Gazette. “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.”
Joshua Axelrod: jaxelrod@post-gazette.com and Twitter @jaxelburgh.
First Published: January 20, 2022, 2:25 p.m.
