A woman originally believed to have mowed down two women in Brooklyn last month — including an aide to Mayor Bloomberg — was apparently telling the truth when she told cops her sister was the driver.
Cindy Jasmin’s sister, Frances, a 28-year-old health industry worker, was taken by detectives to Brooklyn’s 77th Precinct after a two-week stint in a Westchester psych ward where she was placed amid concerns that she might commit suicide.
Cops had initially arrested her sister, Cindy, the car’s owner, in the days after the accident, and were even skeptical of Cindy’s claim that Jasmin had been behind the wheel. Cindy, 31, told cops that Jasmin was so distraught after the accident that she checked herself into the hospital.
But investigators began to give her story some credence after records placed Jasmin’s cell phone in the vicinity of Prospect Heights shortly after the Feb. 21 accident, sources said. Cops also talked to a friend who received a phone call shortly after the accident from Jasmin, who said, “I just hit two people.”
The early-morning car accident left Erinn Phelan, 22, a coordinator with Mayor Bloomberg’s volunteer agency, in critical condition in a coma with severe head trauma.
Phelan’s Brown University roommate, Alma Guerrero, 23, was also injured as they crossed Flatbush Avenue.
Guerrero, who suffered a broken collarbone, has been released.
Phelan pushed Guerrero, a first-year medical student, out of harm’s way as them car barreled down on them at around 4:30 a.m., according to Guerrero’s grandfather, Alejandro Rodriguez.
“My sister didn’t go out that night looking to kill someone,” said Cindy. “It was a tragic accident.”
The Acura was found ditched several blocks away with a bashed-in windshield and a broken driver’s side mirror. Officials said the two women who were walking were crossing against a red light, but that the driver could be charged with leaving the scene of an accident.
Cindy had been identified on a surveillance video at a taxi stand by a man who said she came in saying she had been in an accident.
Even though nearly three weeks have passed since the accident, Frances Jasmin’s lawyer said the suspect wanted to cooperate.
Frances Jasmin left the Westchester facility and rode straight to the precinct.
“It’s a real strain on her,” said her lawyer, Renee Hill, who accompanied her client on the trip to Brooklyn from the Westchester hospital. “She’s taking it hard. She’s upset about the situation and she wanted to do the right thing.”
Cindy Jasmin, the original suspect, was also at the precinct, and said she was supporting her sister.
“Our bond is stronger than ever,” Cindy said. “She’s hanging in there. It’s been a tough ride for her. But she’s hanging in there.”
Guerrero’s sister, Mariel, 21, said the arrest was good news.
“It’s a weight off of our shoulders because we were afraid they were going to dismiss the case,” she said.
Mayor Bloomberg said in a statement this afternoon that “Erinn is a fighter and all of us here at City Hall – and from around the city – are pulling and praying for her.”
Additional reporting by Perry Chiaramonte and Douglas Montero