Gal charged for pushing pal off bridge
An 18-year-old accused of hurting her 16-yearold friend when she pushed the girl off a 60foot bridge in Washington state has been charged with reckless endangerment.
Charging documents filed by the Clark County prosecuting attorney’s office allege Taylor Smith created “a substantial risk of death or serious physical injury” when she shoved her friend Jordan Holgerson off a bridge Aug. 7 at Moulton falls northeast of Vancouver, Wash. Holgerson’s horrifying plummet to the water was recorded and went viral on social media.
Clips obtained by NBC shows Smith urging her pal to jump, telling her “just go” and “I’m going to push you.”
Holgerson suffered “significant injuries,” including a punctured lung, bubbles in her chest and six broken ribs, officials said. She identified Smith as the friend who pushed her and told authorities at the time that the shove was not wanted.
Smith admitted to pushing Holgerson, but told investigators she was only trying to help her overcome a fear. She never intended to injure the teen, she said.
“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 at the time,” Smith told “Good Morning America” on Friday. “I thought she would be fine.”
She said she reached out to apologize and went to visit Holgerson at the hospital but was asked to leave.
In media appearances earlier this month, Holgerson said she was just happy to have survived.
“I went to the top of the bridge and my other — my friend ... she came up to the bridge with me,” Holgerson told KATU Aug. 9. “And so, she was counting down, but I didn’t think anything of it. And I was like, ‘No, don’t count down ... I’m not ready.’ And then she pushed me.”
Smith previously said she would “accept whatever the prosecutors give me” no matter how “scary” the prospect of facing charges may be.