A 19-year-old girl named Taylor Smith is facing charges over an incident which involved a friend of hers, Jordan Holgerson, falling over 60 feet and suffering injuries.
The girl’s charges were brought down to a misdemeanor reckless endangerment after she initially faced the risk of being sent to prison for up to one year and be forced to pay up to $5,000 in fine.
After taking a plea deal, prosecutors recommended no jail time for the young woman at the center of this incident.
Sentencing is set for March 27 as the judge is trying to get more information about the real cost of what happened to Holgerson, who had also been offered the possibility to speak up. Her mother, Genelle Holgerson, rejected that possibility.
The incident was captured on video and went viral shortly after drawing heavy criticism towards the girl for her behavior.
Now, the newly announced reduction of charges has attracted even more negative attention towards the case, with many claiming that the light treatment she is getting is unreasonable in light of what she had done.
The fall resulted in six broken ribs, and both lungs punctured for the 16-year-old victim of the attack.
She is currently going through physical therapy and has reportedly developed anxiety symptoms after the incident.
Strangely enough, it looks like the victim herself does not want her attacker to face any extra punishment for her actions, and instead wants to move on with her life after the August 7 incident off the Lewis River at Moulton Falls Regional Park near Vancouver.
She stated at the end of Monday’s court hearing: “I just want it to be done, I don’t want to wait until next Wednesday. I have these anxiety attacks now, but there’s nothing I can do about it. But I’m playing softball. Kind of on track now, better than it was.”
The attacker claims that she did not consider the possible repercussions of her actions when she decided to push her “friend” down to her fall.
She is currently facing a sentence of community service and electronic monitoring, which many have described as not enough when everything she has done is properly evaluated.
Some have also questioned whether Smith would even have to face any punishment had the video not gone viral as it did in the wake of the incident.
Smith herself appeared to show little remorse for her actions in her appearance in court.
