Teen Officially Charged for Viral Video Where She Pushed 'Friend' Off a Bridge
A young woman featured in a viral prank video in which she pushed her unsuspecting friend off of a bridge has been charged with reckless endangerment, according to the New York Post.
“Prosecutors in Clark County, Washington, announced charges against 18-year-old Taylor Smith on Friday, claiming she ‘created a substantial risk of death or serious physical injury’ when she shoved Jordan Holgerson, 16, near Moulton Falls on Aug. 7,” the Post reported.
Holgerson punctured a lung, broke five ribs and bruised her esophagus in the fall.
According to KGW-TV, Holgerson plunged 50 feet out of control before she hit the water.
The video shows Holgerson saying she won’t jump off the bridge followed by her friend pushing her into the water.
Clark County Deputy Prosecutor Laurel Smith told reporters a number of factors went into the decision to charge Smith with reckless endangerment — a charge that carries up to a year in jail.
“Sometimes we’re looking at victim’s wishes, what they want to see happen. We look at the strength of the evidence,” Smith said, according to KGW. “We look at the defendant’s maturity level, their age.”
Holgerson thinks that the punishment ought to have been more severe for the prank.
“I think Taylor’s appropriate punishment should be somewhere along the lines of sitting longer in jail,” Holgerson said.
“Because I think she needs more time to think about the things she’s done and the way she’s treating people because she’s not being very kind.”
She added that Smith has been treating the incident as if it were a “joke.”
“I think she could have been charged with a little bit more because, if you think about it, she could have killed someone,” Holgerson added
Court documents say that Smith created “a substantial risk of death or serious physical injury” and that she could be spending 364 days in jail and/or paying a $5,000 fine.
Considering she could have killed someone, she’s probably getting off lucky. Either way, though, she’s going to have a lot of time to think about just how stupid this prank was.
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