There is an interesting case in Washington state where Taylor Smith, 18, is facing a charge of reckless endangerment after she pushed 16-year-old Jordan Holgerson off a bridge. Holgerson was contemplating the 60-foot plunge and hesitated. Smith insists that she was just trying to help her make the decision — both Holgerson would end up in a belly flop that left her with multiple injuries. A conviction for the gross misdemeanor can result in as much as a year in jail and a maximum fine of $5,000.
As you can see in the video below, the push was unexpected and uninvited. This led the prosecutors to conclude that “it is clear that Taylor Smith engaged in conduct which created a substantial risk of death and resulted in serious physical injury to Jordan Holgerson.”
Smith was identified by Holgerson and insisted that she is a friend who simply wanted to help her overcome her fears.
That raises an interesting defense. There is no evidence of a malicious intent or desire to injure Smith. However, that may not matter.
The crime is oddly defined in Washington state with specific reference to a drive by shooting charge:
RCW 9A.36.050 Reckless endangerment.
(1) A person is guilty of reckless endangerment when he or she recklessly engages in conduct not amounting to drive-by shooting but that creates a substantial risk of death or serious physical injury to another person.(2) Reckless endangerment is a gross misdemeanor.
Of course she should be convicted! All that BS about “helping” was likely told to her by her lawyers! The reality is that she saw that her “friend” was going to “chicken out” because she knew it was a risky jump, and she “helped” her by taking the decision (about whether it was too risky) out of her hands!
Unfathomable, self-centered “anything for the camera” idiocy. Anything less than jail time for this teen-twit rewards the behavior. But hey! Her urban gorilla antics went viral, so what could possibly trump internet fame?
Any bets how many more fools are going to leap off that same, now famous, bridge?
This case underscores why medics like myself grow busier by the year. In how many more creative ways are we capable of embarrassing a beacon for the planet?
Mayhaps people flood the borders just so they’ll have a front-row seat at our Circus.
The group reflex toward mental midgetry appears to be expanding as rapidly as the Red Shift. Which brings us to a sobering News Flash:
American behavior ain’t flying on any known sustainable trajectory.