bad hit and run in Prospect heights

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Grim news on Mike's tragic hit-run staffer
By EDMUND DeMARCHE

Last Updated: 9:04 AM, June 12, 2010

Posted: 3:08 AM, June 12, 2010

Comments: 2 | More Print
A beloved City Hall staffer who heroically pushed a friend out of the way just before a speeding car struck them on a Brooklyn street is expected to die within two months -- at which time the hit-and-run driver would face much more serious charges, prosecutors said yesterday.

Erinn Phelan, 22, has been in a vegetative state since the February horror in Prospect Heights.

"Her family and I hoped that Erinn might pull through, but that might have been false hope," Assistant DA Gayle Dampf said yesterday at a pretrial hearing for the driver, Frances Jasmin.

Jasmin faces charges of leaving the scene of an accident, a class E felony, and could draw probation if she's convicted.

But if Phelan dies, Dampf said, the charge could escalate to a class D felony -- which guarantees prison time.

"The fact that someone can get probation for ruining this girl and her family's life just doesn't sit well with me," said Dampf.

Jasmin, 28, was allegedly speeding when her car struck Phelan, a coordinator with Mayor Bloomberg's volunteer agency. She was hit after shoving her pal Alma Guerrero out of danger.

Defense lawyer Renee Hill said her client asks about Phelan every day.



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