A Washington state teenwho pushed her friend off a bridge into a river 50 feet belowhas been sentenced to two days in jail.On Wednesday, Tay’lor Smith, 19, appeared before a Clark County judge who sentenced her to 2 days behind bars, PEOPLE confirms. Smith pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment for shoving friend Jordan Holgerson, then 16, off a bridge into a river near Vancouver on Aug. 7, 2018.Smith initially claimed Holgerson told her to push her, but Holgerson and her family have said this isn’t true.Holgerson sustained serious injuries when she hit the water. The teen spent three days in the hospital recovering from her injuries, including multiple broken ribs and a punctured lung, her mother said in court Wednesday.Her fall was captured on video, which went viral.“We feel lucky today that she’s alive,” mother Genelle Holgerson said.“My issue is that Tay’lor has had no sympathy,” she added, noting that Smith never visited her friend at the hospital or at home while she recovered.Genelle Holgerson asked the judge to “force” Smith to “spend as many days in jail” as her daughter did in a hospital bed,ABC News reports.Amanda Cowan/The Columbian via APIn addition to two days in jail, the judge sentenced Smith to 38 days on a work crew and ordered her to have no contact with the victim for two years. She also must pay a $300 fine.The victim, now 17, also spoke Wednesday.“I didn’t ask for any of this but last summer my said-to-be good friend changed my life for the worse,” Holgerson said before breaking down into tears. “This nightmare started for me when I was falling through the air.”Jordan Holgerson (center) with family.Amanda Cowan/The Columbian via APAfter the video went viral, Smith and Holgerson spoke out separately to the media.In an interviewwithGood Morning Americabefore she was charged,Smith said Holgerson told her to push her if she didn’t have the courage to jump herself.“She wanted to jump and she was scared and she had asked me to give her a push, and I didn’t think about the consequences,” Smith toldGMA. “I thought she would be fine.”Last December, Holgerson said, “All that she’s been doing is lying. … I just don’t think she really even cares.”Holgerson said she has suffered from anxiety and panic attacks since her fall.
A Washington state teenwho pushed her friend off a bridge into a river 50 feet belowhas been sentenced to two days in jail.
On Wednesday, Tay’lor Smith, 19, appeared before a Clark County judge who sentenced her to 2 days behind bars, PEOPLE confirms. Smith pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment for shoving friend Jordan Holgerson, then 16, off a bridge into a river near Vancouver on Aug. 7, 2018.
Smith initially claimed Holgerson told her to push her, but Holgerson and her family have said this isn’t true.
Holgerson sustained serious injuries when she hit the water. The teen spent three days in the hospital recovering from her injuries, including multiple broken ribs and a punctured lung, her mother said in court Wednesday.
Her fall was captured on video, which went viral.
“We feel lucky today that she’s alive,” mother Genelle Holgerson said.
“My issue is that Tay’lor has had no sympathy,” she added, noting that Smith never visited her friend at the hospital or at home while she recovered.
Genelle Holgerson asked the judge to “force” Smith to “spend as many days in jail” as her daughter did in a hospital bed,ABC News reports.
Amanda Cowan/The Columbian via AP
In addition to two days in jail, the judge sentenced Smith to 38 days on a work crew and ordered her to have no contact with the victim for two years. She also must pay a $300 fine.
The victim, now 17, also spoke Wednesday.
“I didn’t ask for any of this but last summer my said-to-be good friend changed my life for the worse,” Holgerson said before breaking down into tears. “This nightmare started for me when I was falling through the air.”
Jordan Holgerson (center) with family.Amanda Cowan/The Columbian via AP
After the video went viral, Smith and Holgerson spoke out separately to the media.
In an interviewwithGood Morning Americabefore she was charged,Smith said Holgerson told her to push her if she didn’t have the courage to jump herself.
“She wanted to jump and she was scared and she had asked me to give her a push, and I didn’t think about the consequences,” Smith toldGMA. “I thought she would be fine.”
Last December, Holgerson said, “All that she’s been doing is lying. … I just don’t think she really even cares.”
Holgerson said she has suffered from anxiety and panic attacks since her fall.
source: people.com
