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Topics: Crime, Social Media, US News
Chelsea Connor
A teenager pleaded guilty and received jail time after pushing her friend off a 60ft bridge and leaving her with 'severe injuries.'
Taylor Smith, who was 19 at the time, pleaded guilty back in 2019 to pushing her younger friend off the bridge after being charged with ‘reckless endangerment.’
Smith was filmed shoving Jordan Holgerson, 17, on August 7 2019, with the 10-second clip going viral on social media.
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It’s not clear what caused the teen to push her friend off the 60ft edge, although the victim’s mother, Genelle Holgerson, said in court she believes Taylor acted intentionally due to the severity of her daughter's injuries.
“After Taylor pushed her, she did not rush down to see if Jordan was OK, she left the scene.
“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.”
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The victim was asked in court to share her statement, but was so emotional she had to have a victim's advocate read her statement on her behalf.
She said: “This nightmare started for me when I was falling through the air, and I was really terrified.
"When I was being pulled from the water, I thought, ‘I’m going to die,’ because I couldn’t breathe. And I was watching my body change color by the second.”
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Holgerson was left with severe injuries including six broken ribs and punctured lungs, which Clark County District Court Judge Darvin Zimmerman took into consideration with Smith’s sentencing.
Zimmerman told the girl in court: “I think you need to do some jail time.”
She was sentenced to two days in county jail, along with a $300 fine after pleading guilty.
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Before being escorted from the court while handcuffed, Smith was given a chance to have her say in the courtroom.
She directed her statement to her friend, saying: “I’d like to sincerely apologize to Jordan Holgerson, her family and friends for the pain and humiliation I have caused by my mindless actions that occurred last summer.
"Although it may have seemed like my intent was to harm and like I may have moved on without putting any punishment on myself, this is false. Jordan has passed through my thoughts repetitively since the incident."