Facebook/Twitter Tori Yorgey and a scene from the video.
Tori Yorgey is a West Virginia reporter who was hit by a car during a live broadcast. You can watch the viral video later in this article.
Yorgey is on Twitter, where she describes herself as, “Born and raised outside of Philadelphia #GOBIRDS. Penn State grad #WEARE. Reporter: @wsaznews.” She is a reporter for WSAZ-TV in Charleston, West Virginia, but she is heading to Pittsburgh to start a new reporting job in February. The incident occurred in Dunbar, West Virginia.
People were impressed by her composure after being hit by the car; she did not appear seriously injured in the video.
“Wow, this reporter gets hit by a car, and rebounds to finish the live shot!” tweeted another journalist.
ESPN broadcaster Molly McGrath tweeted, “I can’t stop thinking about this. Tori Yorgey is hit by a car during her live shot, reassures everyone that she is okay, all while fixing her own camera shot … the one-man-band is never appreciated enough.”
Joshua Axelrod, a feature writer with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, wrote that Yorgey is headed to that city: “Yinzers: Meet @WSAZToriY, who will be joining @wtae on Feb. 1 as a nighttime reporter. Fun fact: She turned down offers in Baltimore and Cleveland to work in Pittsburgh.”
He quoted her as saying, “I’m excited to see what the Steel City has to offer and what’s ahead for me there.” She tweeted, “Next stop, Pittsburgh! I will miss everyone in this Tri-State, but am so excited for what’s ahead. Thank you to everyone for the support these last three years!”
Here’s what you need to know:
The Car Hit Yorgey as She Was Reporting on a Water Main Break
“We’re good, Tim.”
In the video, anchor Tim Irr says, “And now we’re starting to experience — unfortunately, in freeze-thaw we see this — water main breaks.”
The car or truck then strikes Yorgey. But she gets right back up.
“Oh my God, I just got hit by a car, but I’m OK. I just got hit by a car but I’m OK, Tim,” she said.
“I’m OK; we’re all good. 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.”
She then spoke to someone off camera, saying, “I am so glad I’m OK, you’re OK, you’re OK. We’re all good. … You know what, it’s a one-woman band. We’re good, Tim. Ma’am you are so sweet and you are OK. It is all good. … Oh Lord. You know it’s my last week on the job, and I think this would happen specifically to me, Tim.”
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Irr asks her, “Were you bumped down low Tori or were you hit up high … I couldn’t really tell … I just saw you disappear out of the screen.”
She said: “I don’t even know, Tim. My whole life just flashed before my eyes.”
“That can happen,” he said.
“I thought I was in a safe spot, but clearly we might need to move the camera over a bit,” Yorgey said.
“Tori’s in an area right now where there has been a water main break,” Irr explained to viewers.
Irr Wrote That He ‘Couldn’t See What Happened’
@kelseybillups @kerbiegibbs The director said he was all set to cut away until she quickly jumped up and said she was ok… which, in hindsight, was probably best for the viewers to see her say she was indeed ok.
Irr wrote on Twitter, “On the contrary. I couldn’t see what happened. Only audio. Then, I wasn’t truly convinced she was ok.”
He was responding to a tweet from a person who wrote, “Is Tim a cyborg? Zero reaction.”
Journalist Timothy Burke tweeted, “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.”
Irr also tweeted, “The director said he was all set to cut away until she quickly jumped up and said she was ok… which, in hindsight, was probably best for the viewers to see her say she was indeed ok.”
Yorgey Is From Pennsylvania & Entered Journalism Because She Likes Talking & People
Yinzers: Meet @WSAZToriY, who will be joining @wtae on Feb. 1 as a nighttime reporter. Fun fact: She turned down offers in Baltimore and Cleveland to work in Pittsburgh.
“I’m excited to see what the Steel City has to offer and what’s ahead for me there”
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette profile story on Yorgey said that she is a 25-year-old Penn State University graduate.
“I want to cover as much of my home state as I can,” Yorgey told the Post-Gazette of her impending move to television screens there. “I’m just excited to be back in Pennsylvania. I love it there. I’m excited to see what the Steel City has to offer and what’s ahead for me there. It will be just a great step for me career-wise and also just in life.”
A college advisor suggested a career in broadcast journalism when Yorgey explained, “I like to talk and I like people,” the newspaper reported.
Her WSAZ-TV profile page reads:
Tori graduated from Penn State University in December 2018 with a degree in Broadcast journalism. While in school, Tori interned at WBHV-FM and eventually worked her way up to being an on-air radio personality. In summer 2018, Tori became a dayside news intern at WTXF Fox29 News in Philadelphia. At WTXF, Tori worked alongside and shadowed different reporters, anchors, editors, producers and writers. It was during her WTXF internship that Tori discovered her true love for news.
Tori was born and raised in the Philadelphia area and is a huge Philly sports fan. This is her first time moving away from her family but she is excited to trade big city buildings for the beautiful mountains in West Virginia. Outside of work, Tori enjoys hiking, kayaking and being with family and friends.
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