An American teenager who shoved a friend off a bridge from a height of around 60ft looks set to avoid jail time after she changed her plea to guilty.19-year-old Taylor Smith was charged by the police after a video emerged that clearly showed her pushing her mate, 16-year-old Jordan Holgerson, from a bridge in the Moulton Falls Regional Park, in Washington State. The fall left Holgerson severely injured with punctured lungs and broken ribs caused by the fall. Her mother has also spoken out about the trauma her daughter suffered during this ordeal, and how she continues to receive therapy. The video, which went viral last summer, appears to show Jordan looking worried and hesitant stood on the tall bridge that her friends are all jumping from. Smith then appears to shove her into the water below, causing her injuries. Smith was charged with reckless endangerment and initially pleaded not guilty last September. She has now altered that plea to guilty, but prosecutors are recommending that she be sentenced to house arrest and community service instead. The maximum penalty for reckless endangerment is one year in prison. Smith is to be sentenced next week when Holgerson will deliver a victim impact statement. Jordan Holgerson's mother told local TV station KPIC TV that her daughter is suffering from panic attacks and is receiving treatment for a shoulder injury. Mrs. Holgerson said: "I think the sentence they're proposing, we liked because Jordan just wants Taylor to be a better person."That's what she had asked for, so some of those things will help too, and will help her better the community and herself, and will be a positive change for her hopefully."She then told KPTV: "She gets to where she thinks people are going to hurt her, so we're working through anxiety. I think being done with this will help her close that chapter."
There had been some debate throughout the case as to whether Jordan had asked Taylor to push her. Smith initially told police that she had been asked to push her because she was scared of jumping. Holgerson disputed that claim. A probable cause affidavit said: "Once at the top, Jordan hesitated and began to have second thoughts about jumping."Smith appeared on Good Morning America and admitted to the shove but 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."