Woman charged in Brooklyn hit and run

BROOKLYN Frances Jasmin, 28, was arraigned Wednesday night in Brooklyn Criminal Court on charges of leaving the scene of an accident with serious physical injury.

She was charged with striking two pedestrians in Brooklyn.

Her bail was set at $300,000 after prosecutors asked for $500,000. Her next court date was set for Tuesday.

Jasmin is the sister of the car owner.

According to the criminal complaint released Thursday, detectives used cell phone records to figure out Jasmin was in the area at the time of the crash.

Detectives say Jasmin was the cell phone immediately following the crash and told her friend, Rashida Meggett:

"Something just hit my car and I'm bleeding."

Blood was reportedly recovered from the driver's door of the green Acura found ditched near the crash scene.

Accompanied by her lawyer, Jasmin surrendered for questioning in the accident on Wednesday. She was later charged.

She had not been previously available to detectives because she was in New York-Presbyterian Hospital in White Plains for psychiatric treatment.

The two victims, Erinn Phelan and her friend Alma Guerrero, were hit as they crossed Flatbush Avenue in the early morning hours of February 21.

Phelan, a coordinator with Mayor Bloomberg's NYC Civic Corps, was left brain dead. Phelan is still listed in critical condition at Kings County Hospital, according to the Mayor's office.

"I talked to her mother and father yesterday. She is making a little bit of progress, but she has a long ways to go. We pray for what may be needed as a miracle or science to come through for this young lady," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. "She's strong and young and that works in her favor, but anybody that thinks she wasn't badly injured is wrong. She was very seriously injured. She had some more operations yesterday and today on some broken bones, but the main problem still is that she's had a severe head injury."

Guerrero was hospitalized, but she has since been released.

Guerrero, a first-year medical student, credits Phelan with saving her life by pushing her out of the way of the oncoming car. Both are graduates of Brown University. Phelan graduated from Swampcott High School in 2005.

Investigators said the vehicle that hit them, an Acura Legend, was found ditched several blocks away from the accident scene with a bashed-in windshield and a broken driver's side mirror.

Police said the vehicle is owned by 31-year-old Cindy Jasmin, the suspect's older sister.

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