DA: Woman charged in car through home wasn't driver

HUNTINGTON, N.Y. (WABC) -- Authorities on Long Island have dismissed drunken driving charges against a 21-year-old Brooklyn woman who was arrested after the car she was in plowed through a Huntington home and instead charged her boyfriend.

Sophia Anderson had fresh cuts still all over her face from the accident back in May when she was arrested.

She stood under the glare of more than a dozen cameras.

Now, prosecutors say it wasn't Anderson but 24-year-old Daniel Sajewski who was drunk behind the wheel of his parents Mercedes when he went careening right through a home in Huntington.

He narrowly missed 96-year-old Helen Indiere and her elderly sister who were sleeping.

Anderson's attorney John LoTurco says Anderson took the blame for Sajewski because she loved him.

"He manipulated her, he promised her things, he promised her false love," LoTurco said.

LoTurco says at the accident scene, Sajewski already facing numerous drug charges, begged Anderson to say she was the driver and even to take the breathalyzer.

"He promised to bail her out immediately, to pay for a vacation for her," LoTurco said.

But LoTurco says when Sajewski didn't bail her out, that's when Anderson came forward with the truth.

"We will be dismissing the DWI charge still pending against her in district court in the next few days," Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said.

Now Sajewski is being charged with DWI, reckless endangerment and conspiracy.

"We had no idea that this indictment even existed until last night so we haven't had a chance to really review the allegations or conduct our own investigation," said Carl Benincasa, Sajewski's attorney.

As for Indiere you can tell she is just overwhelmed by all this.

She and her sister still haven't been able to move back into their house.

"It's very stressful for them, rightfully so. Their routine is upset, their lifestyle is just so out of whack, and we're looking forward to getting them back home," said Gina Anjevine, Indiere's granddaughter.

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