The girl who pushed her friend off a 60-foot high bridge into a river could be prosecuted

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Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/08/15/the-girl-who-pushed-her-friend.html

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I would say if the girl with the broken ribs and punctured lungs wants to press charges, then so be it. Leave it in her court.

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I tend to doubt the veracity of that ‘friendship.’

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That sounds reasonable.

The person shooting vertical video should be punished though.

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“Could” be charged? Sheesh, how is their doubt?

Not sure whether to go with assault or reckless endangerment, I can see. But “maybe we’ll bring charges”? Good grief.

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In many cases like this the DA/police leave it up to the injured party (or the guardian thereof, in this case) to make that decision. I could easily see how somebody wouldn’t want to put their friend in jail over a split-second, stupid decision, even if they got hurt real bad and might have died.

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After the legal dust settles, she needs to make it a priority to find herself better friends!

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So in this case would I want my daughter’s friend in jail? no. But definitely charge her and plea it out to community service just so she learns a hard lesson.

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I would certainly want to my daughter’s friend to face consequences for such an action, but I’m not 100% sure that criminal charges would be our preferred way to go.

I think it would ultimately come down to whether we thought the push was motivated by well-meaning stupidity or malice.

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Pretty sure the fall will happen vertically. I’m okay this time.

Srsly tho. 60 feet? That’s some major asshole ego working there. I worked with a guy once who bragged about paralysing a kid in a high school football game so it’s hardly unprecedented.

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Jesus, that is high even if one means to dive in properly. Belly flopping like that - ffuuuuuuuuu

I hope the “friend” was ignorant, and not malicious.

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Five Storey Belly Flop: band name!

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So when it comes to the age-old question “if all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?” this girl wouldn’t.

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agreed. And I am assuming from our third party view it was most likely stupidity. I just think she needs to really feel the severity of her actions.

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Why is charging someone at the discretion of the injured party in this kind of case? What is this kind of case?

If someone is driving recklessly (not maliciously) and smashes up my parked car, is it up to me whether the driver is charged? (Should it be?)

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For the record – is landing feet first the thing to do in that situation?

I suppose such advice is moot if one blacks out in midair, which I suppose could very well be a thing that could happen; I don’t particularly care to experiment personally.

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How far do you think the prosecution would get if the injured party showed up at trial to testify that it was just a stupid decision and she didn’t want her friend to be punished? (I’m not saying that that is the injured party’s position here because I don’t know, but I’m sure a DA would factor that in).

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SHEESH It’s a summer day! How much light does your cell phone NEED to not pixelate like that?

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Or a proper dive, I imagine. I am not really a water enthusiast. I know at a certain height it doesn’t matter how you go in, it’s like hitting concrete as far as damage you will sustain.