Teen Pleads Not Guilty To Pushing Friend Off Bridge In Viral Video

An 18-year-old woman charged with reckless endangerment for allegedly pushing her 16-year-old friend off a bridge, sending her falling 60 feet into water below, made her first court appearance.

The Aug. 7 shove at Moulton Falls, northeast of Vancouver, Washington, was captured on a video that quickly went viral.

Tay'Lor Smith was arraigned Friday morning in Clark County District Court. The Columbian reports she pleaded not guilty. Reckless endangerment is a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail.

Jordan Holgerson (pictured) suffered injuries ranging from broken ribs to punctured lungs. The teen doesn’t remember falling, and didn’t initially feel pain due to adrenaline. And although she thought she was swimming back to shore after the plunge, other people noticed she was actually drowning.

Video of the push showed Holgerson standing on the bridge with friends. A woman can be heard telling Holgerson to "just go" and "I'm going to push you."

Then a woman is seen pushing her into the water below.

Holgerson’s sister, Vanessa, told KOIN in Portland she believed Smith "tried to do it jokingly and didn't think what could have happened."

Taylor Smith pushed her friend Jordan Holgerson off a bridge, leading to an over 50-foot fall, broken ribs and punctured lungs.

"You don't really play around at 60 feet," she said.   

Trauma surgeon Mary Clare Sarff said the teenager was lucky to be alive.

"When you fall three times your height, 50 percent of people will die. That's usually about 25 feet," Sarff said at a news conference last month, according to The Oregonian. "When you're falling from [60 feet on water], that's like falling on concrete. She could have broken her neck, she could have been a quadriplegic."

On Friday a judge granted Smith supervised release. She is not to have contact with Holgerson. Another court hearing was scheduled for Dec. 4.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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