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Teen wants friend who pushed her off bridge to ‘sit in jail’

Posted at 8:31 AM, Aug 17, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-17 08:31:33-04

The Washington 16-year-old whose friend pushed her off a 60-foot bridge says that friend should “sit in jail and think about … what she did.”

So says Jordan Holgerson, now home from the hospital but still recovering from six broken ribs, two punctured lungs, and other internal injuries, in an interview with Today.

She says she at first didn’t want 18-year-old Taylor Smith punished, but she has thought about it more and changed her mind.

“I kind of got mad because the rest of my summer’s gone and I’m probably going to be recovering for the rest of the school year,” she says, adding that Smith’s apology to her wasn’t enough.

The girls were with other friends at Moulton Falls Regional Park, at a spot popular with daredevils who want to jump from the bridge to the water below despite signs barring such antics. Holgerson says she went up on the bridge because she thought she wanted to jump, then changed her mind when she saw how high it was.

When people jump, they try to go into the water feet-first; Holgerson, instead, belly-flopped after being pushed. Doctors say entering the water the wrong way could feel like smacking into concrete.

Holgerson says she’s still in a lot of pain. As for potential criminal charges, police have passed their findings onto the county prosecutor’s office for review. (Smith says she “feels really bad.”)