Reporter Who Was Hit By A Car Live On Air Speaks Out

Tori Yorgey has been a news reporter at WSAZ for three years. She was hired as a MMJ, or a multimedia journalist. This means that when she goes to report on a story, she’s not just the reporter but also the videographer. That means that when she goes to report on a story, nobody else goes with her.

There have been concerns raised about the safety of MMJs, particularly for women and particularly at night. Even more concerns have been raised after seeing what happened to Yorgey. For example, CNN Correspondent Dianne Gallagher tweeted, “STOP SENDING REPORTERS OUT ALONE TO RUN THEIR OWN LIVE SHOTS. Especially in the dark. Especially on the side of the road. Especially in severe weather. But really, in any circumstance, it’s unsafe and unfair to the journalist AND community.”

So, what exactly happened to Yorgey? She got hit by a car live on air. She had set up her own camera and was reporting about a water main break. She didn’t see the car coming, and the driver clearly didn’t see her until it was too late. Thankfully, she survived.

Watch the video below to see the news report where Yorgey was hit by a car and to hear what she has to say about the incident.

Yorgey explained that she was not in the road when she got hit by the car; however, she also wasn’t standing on the sidewalk because she was trying to make sure she was out of the way of the water company workers. She was standing in the driveway of an apartment complex up against the curb. There was still plenty of room for cars to enter and exit the complex.

Yorgey thought she was safe where she was standing. She said, “I just really thought with all the emergency lights from the water crews that it’s gonna be a safe place.” She wonders if the driver, who was very apologetic, was distracted by the emergency lights and didn’t see her because of them.

In the video, Yorgey mentioned that she was also hit by a car in college. At that time, Yorgey was walking past an alley when a driver ignored a stop sign and bumped into Yorgey. Yorgey was not hurt and didn’t even fall down.

Do you think TV stations should stop hiring MMJs? Have you ever been hit by a car? Does it surprise you how good natured Yorgey is about the entire incident?