Teen Who Pushed Friend Off Bridge Is Going to Jail

Prosecutors had recommended home detention
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 28, 2019 1:48 AM CDT
Teen Who Pushed Friend Off Bridge Is Going to Jail
Tay'Lor Smith, left, fights back tears as her lawyer speaks during her sentencing at the Clark County Courthouse in Vancouver, Wash., on Wednesday, March 27, 2019.   (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian via AP)

A teenager who pushed her friend off a 60-foot bridge in Washington state last summer is going to jail despite a deal with prosecutors. Tay'Lor Smith, 19, was ordered by Clark County District Court Judge Darvin Zimmerman to spend two days in jail and 38 days on a county work crew, NBC reports. "I think you need to do some jail time," he told Smith after hearing from several people involved in the case, including friend Jordan Holgerson, who suffered six broken ribs and punctured lungs in the fall at a popular swimming area in Moulton Falls Regional Park. Smith pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment last week after a state prosecutor agreed not to recommend jail time.

Holgerson, who was 16 at the time of the Aug. 7 incident, testified that she was "terrified" as she fell through the air and she thought she was going to die as rescuers pulled her from the water. Holgerson's mother told the court that she believed Smith should spend three days in jail, which is as long as her daughter spent in the hospital, ABC reports. "Taylor pushed her, she did not rush down to see if Jordan was OK, she left the scene," Genelle Holgerson said. "She did not show up at the hospital to check on Jordan. She did not stop by our home to see if she was OK or in any other way act like a friend." A tearful Smith apologized in court for the "pain and humiliation I have caused by my mindless actions that occurred last summer." (More Jordan Holgerson stories.)

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