The life of a TV reporter can be tough. If you aren’t being sent into hostile environments to chase down leads or struggling to force an answer out of a politician, you might end up in the awful scenario of being hit by a car on live TV. That’s exactly the situation one WSAZ-TV reporter found herself in earlier this week while covering a severe weather incident in West Virginia.

Late on Wednesday (Jan. 19, 2022), local TV news reporter Tori Yorgey was out on location in Dunbar, WV, delivering a live report to anchor Tim Irr in the studio. While speaking to the camera, Yorgey was hit by a silver SUV, which pushed her out of frame and knocked her and her camera to the ground.

Off screen, Yorgey is heard saying, “Oh my god, I just got hit by a car,” while Irr looks on confused.

“I just got hit by a car, Tim, but I’m OK,” Yorgey repeated, before Irr said, “Well, that’s a first for you on TV, Tori.”

In a video of the incident shared to social media, the driver of the car can be heard shouting to ask if Yorgey is OK before she replies saying she’s fine.

“That’s live TV for you, but it’s all good. I actually got hit by a car in college, too, just like that,” Yorgey said, as if that makes the whole thing any less horrifying.

She then appears to comfort the driver of the car, and assures everyone one last time that “we’re all OK.”

“My whole life just flashed before my eyes,” she added.

With the camera still rolling, and Yorgey’s shocked expression still plastered over the TV screens, it seems pretty messed up that directors didn’t cut away from the scene. Yorgey was hardly given a minute to compose herself before she had to get back to the story at hand.

It made for some pretty shocking Wednesday night viewing and broke the first rule of reporting you learn at journalism school: Don’t ever become the news.

During the whole palaver, Yorgey appeared to be working as a one-person operation. Meaning she was reporting and serving as her own camera operator simultaneously. She also appeared to be reporting from the side of the road without any reflective clothing.The practice has proven controversial at times due to concerns for reporters’ safety.