Teenager Seen Pushing Friend Off Washington Bridge Pleads Guilty

A Washington teenager accused of pushing her 16-year-old friend off a bridge at Moulton Falls Regional Park, sending her plummeting 60 feet into the river below, pleaded guilty on Monday to misdemeanor reckless endangerment, NBC News reports.

Prosecutors at a Clark Country District court recommended no jail time for 19-year-old Taylor Smith.

Smith was seen pushing Jordan Holgerson off a bridge located in the Moultan Falls Regional Park northeast of Vancouver on Aug. 7. The 16-year-old suffered multiple broken ribs, and punctured lungs as a result of the fall. A ten-second clip of the incident was posted online, where it quickly went viral.

Holgerson said she initially planned to jump off the bridge into the river located sixty feet below, but said she changed her mind before she was pushed.

"Some days, I kind of want her to be put in jail," Holgerson said of her former friend in an interview on NBC's Today Show. "And some days, I think that might be too harsh."

According to Holgerson's mother, Smith had grown impatient with Holgerson while she hesitated to jump off the bridge.

Authorities charged Smith on one count of reckless endangerment about a week after the incident, which she pleaded guilty to in December. In February, Smith was reportedly offered a plea deal, the details of which were not made immediately available. Misdemeanor reckless endangerment carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $5,000 fine.

Smith is scheduled to be sentenced on March 27.


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