A distracted driver ploughed his car into the back of another on live television this morning as a Nine News reporter did a cross from Perth to Sydney.
TODAY journalist Alison Ariotti was reporting from outside Clontarf Aboriginal College in the southern suburb of Waterford, the scene of the Queen's first visit in Perth, at 8am (WST) when a black car behind her slammed into a stationary red car.
"I heard a pretty loud bang behind me and knew there must've been an accident," Ariotti told ninemsn.
"Curiosity made me want to turn around but professionalism told me to just keep talking."
While viewers could clearly see the accident, the reporter resisted the urge to turn around.
She told ninemsn she could tell by the reaction of the cameraman the accident was not serious.
"The black car's airbag went off and there was smoke coming out of it, but no one was hurt," the Queensland reporter said.
Both cars had bad bumper damage but were "driveable".
Police were conveniently already on scene, conducting security checks ahead of the Queen's arrival at the college.
"We've been laughing about it, saying that I literally stopped traffic," Ariotti said.
It is not the first time one of Ariotti's live reports has been interrupted by a distracting scene — on New Year's Day 2010 she was forced to carry on reporting as a group of pantless backpackers ran circles around her.
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