Meteorologist faints live on the air, 9 years after throwing up in another segment
Alissa Carlson, a meteorologist for the CBS Los Angeles KCAL news team, appeared to lose consciousness during a live broadcast Saturday morning.
The incident occurred at the top of the 7 a.m. news program.
The live feed showed KCAL news anchors Nichelle Medina and Rachel Kim introduce the weather segment with the expectation of continued rain showers. But before they could even finish with their lead-in, you can see Carlson’s eyes begin to roll to the back of her head.
Carlson then sinks all the way down to the desk before falling to the floor, appearing to lose consciousness.
Medina and Kim, clearly surprised, immediately cut to commercial.
KCAL reportedly never returned to their live news segment after the incident and instead aired pre-recorded and promotional programming before leading into their coverage of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, according to TMZ.
CBS Los Angeles Vice President and News Director Mike Dello Stritto shared an update hours later, saying Carlson was being treated at the hospital.
No one has publicly commented on what may have caused Carlson to faint. However, she suffered a similar incident during a 2014 live broadcast at a different station, where she vomited on set. She was later diagnosed with a leaky heart valve.
During an interview a few years after that incident, Carlson recalled being asked by doctors if she ever thought about having a heart condition.
“I said, ‘Are you kidding me? No, I’m way too young for that and I’m very healthy,’” she recounted. “They told me that eventually the valve would probably have to be replaced. They didn’t know when it would wear out,” she added.
As of now, it’s unclear whether or not Carlson’s heart condition played a role in Saturday’s incident.
However, she shared an update on Facebook, thanking everyone for the well wishes and promising that she’s “going to be OK!”
