this young man
is a friend of your son's.
>> Yes, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: Mr. Bridgman
was driving a car
that is owned by you,
you're the registered owner,
but you had given
to his son for his use.
>> Yes, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: And you
and your son, I assume,
have sort of an estranged
relationship, because if I were
to guess based upon the
complaint and answer that I
read, your name would be Alex.
>> Yes, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: And
that's your son.
>> Yes, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: And I assume
he's not living at home?
>> Yes, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: When
did he leave?
>> About a month ago.
>> Judge Judy: How old is he?
>> 18.
>> Judge Judy: Do you
know where he went?
>> He moved in with
a friend, Cory.
>> Judge Judy: Did he
take the car?
>> No, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: Do you
have the car?
>> Yes, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: Is it fixed?
>> No, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: Okay.
Now, on what date was
this accident, Mr. Bridgman?
>> January 6th, 2017,
Your Honor.
>> Judge Judy: What time
of the day or night?
>> I would say it was between
9:00 and 10:00 p.m.
>> Judge Judy: And you
and Alex were out.
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: With
some friends in a park.
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: And some people,
but not you, were smoking weed,
including Alex.
>> Yes, Your Honor.
I do not go near
drugs or alcohol.
>> Judge Judy: I read your
papers.
So, then, you just hang around
with people who do
drugs and alcohol.
>> Better be the designated
than the one doing them.
>> Judge Judy: Better find
friends who don't hang around
and do drugs and alcohol.
That would be the smarter thing
to do, right?
>> Yes, Your Honor.
>> Judge Judy: Yeah.
Did I ever tell you the story
about the blueberries?
>> No, Your Honor.
>> Judge Judy: Well, Byrd's
heard this story many times
before, but it's worth
telling again.
Did you ever go to the
grocery store to buy
a box of blueberries?
>> Yes, Your Honor.
>> Judge Judy: And when you look
at a box of blueberries,
sometimes you see one
that has mold on it, right?
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: And you don't buy
that box because there are lots
of healthy blueberries
around that one moldy blueberry,
but somebody taught you that
if you take a box of blueberries
and there are one or two moldy
blueberries, by the next day,
they'll all going to be
moldy, right?
>> Yes, Your Honor.
>> Judge Judy: That's a
life's lesson.
You want to hang around with
a bunch of moldy blueberries?
[ Laughter ]
That's what happens.
Anyway, so you're out
with your friends
who are doing weed on
January 6th of 2017.
Weed, a little alcohol,
and whatever, and somebody
wanted something to drink.
>> Yes, Your Honor.
>> Judge Judy: Who wanted
something to drink,
Mr. Bridgman?
>> Alex and myself.
>> Judge Judy: What did you want
to drink?
>> I wanted a Polar Pop
from the Circle K.
>> Judge Judy: Polar Pop.
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: And what
did Alex want?
>> A Polar Pop, too.
>> Judge Judy: But Alex wanted
to stay with his friends,
so you took the car.
>> Yes, Your Honor.
>> Judge Judy: Tell me what
happened when you took the car,
Mr. Bridgman.
>> I went about a block
down the road
and took a left onto Woodlawn.
On this particular road
there is a quite abrupt hill,
and I was going about 15
to 20 miles an hour.
There is ice on this road,
as it was very cold at the time.
>> Judge Judy: So you live in
a place where, in January,
there's ice on the road,
and you're hanging around with
the moldy blueberries
who are smoking dope
and drinking in a park.
>> Yes, Your Honor.
>> Judge Judy: [ Snickering ]
[ Laughter ]
How old are you, Mr. Bridgman?
>> 18.
>> Judge Judy: What do you do?
>> I'm a farm hand.
>> Judge Judy: Is it people
that you know?
Is it a relative
or just a stranger?
>> Family friend.
>> Judge Judy: And you
live there?
>> I live in Decatur.
I do not live on the farm.
>> Judge Judy: With whom?
>> My grandmother at the time.
>> Judge Judy: Who do you live
with now?
>> My grandma.
>> Judge Judy: What do you mean
your grandmother at the time?
She ceased to become
your grandmother?
>> No.
I lived with my parents
and moved in with my grandma
because of family issues.
>> Judge Judy: When?
>> When I turned 18.
>> Judge Judy: There were
family issues with your
family because of your
moldy-blueberry friends?
>> No. My mother.
Me and her do not get along.
[ Laughter ]
>> Judge Judy: "My mother.
She and I do not get along."
Now, you're driving down
this icy road in January,
about 10:00 at night,
because you're going to get two
Polar Pops, one for you
and one for the ever-high Alex.
[ Laughter ]
And what happened?
>> On the other side
of this hill,
there was a pizza driver
in a quite large vehicle
that was definitely
speeding with his lights off.
Upon coming on top of the hill,
he saw me
and flipped his brights on.
My reaction was to slam
on the brake,
forcing my head into the ceiling
and making me slide off the road
on the ice, at which point I hit
a Dodge Neon, if I'm correct.
>> Judge Judy: What kind of car
do you own?
>> A 2002 Honda Accord LE.
>> Judge Judy: And let me
understand something, Ms. Allen.
You gave this car
to your son for his use.
Is that right?
>> Yes.
We let him drive it.
>> Judge Judy: And in January
of 2017,
based upon everything
that I read,
you were aware of the fact
that your son was getting high.
That's either a yes or a no.
>> Not that evening, we weren't.
>> Judge Judy: I'm not talking
about that evening, January 6th.