A woman who pushed her 16-year-old friend from a bridge at a popular swimming area near Vancouver has been sentenced following a plea deal on charges of reckless endangerment.
Clark County District Court Judge Darvin Zimmerman sentenced 19-year-old Tay’Lor Smith on Wednesday, March 27, to two days in jail and 38 days on a county work crew.
The Incident
Holgerson was pushed off of a bridge in Vancouver, Washington, on Aug. 7. She was standing atop the Moulton Falls bridge, which sits above the Lewis River in Clark County.A cellphone video shows Holgerson looking down on the water while someone off-screen counts down.
Holgerson hesitates, but then someone pushed her from behind.
“And so, she was counting down, but I didn’t think anything of it. And I was like, ‘No, don’t count down, like, I won’t go if you count down. I’m not ready.’ And then, she pushed me.”
Holgerson suffered five broken ribs, a punctured lung, and air bubbles in her chest.
Plea Deal
Despite admitting to pushing her friend off the bridge, Smith initially entered a not guilty plea during her first court appearance on Sept. 7, reported KOIN.“I didn’t think about the consequences,” Smith added. “I thought she would be fine.”
Smith faced charges of reckless endangerment and a possible maximum sentence of one year behind bars.
The details of the plea were not disclosed.
The Sentencing
In court Wednesday, Holgerson said she still struggled with physical therapy, pain, anxiety, and panic attacks.“I didn’t ask for any this, but last summer my said-to-be good friend changed my life for the worst,” Holgerson read from a statement, as reported by the New York Post.
Holgerson was terrified when she was pushed and when she was in the water thought she was going to die.
She wrote in the statement that she suffers from PTSD and insomnia.
Holgerson’s mother expressed relief her daughter’s injuries weren’t more severe.
“We feel lucky today that she is alive,” Genelle Holgerson told the judge of the incident involving her daughter, adding that she’d like to see some jail time. “It has cost me and my family lost wages not to mention stress and heartache.”
Smith apologized to Holgerson in court saying Holgerson has been in her thoughts and that she has and will continue to do her best to right her wrongs.
She broke down in tears when a deputy handcuffed her and led her out of the courtroom.