RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — Last week, Sophia Anderson was arraigned on charges of conspiracy and obstruction of governmental operation after prosecutors discovered she had been lying about being the driver in a Memorial Day DWI crash that plowed through a Long Island home.
Anderson confessed to her attorneys that her boyfriend, Daniel Sajewski, 23, convinced her to take the blame.
“I want to apologize to Helen Indiere and her sister, Virginia Bennett, who were innocently sleeping inside their home the night of the accident,” Anderson said.
When police arrived at the scene of the accident, Anderson told them she was behind the wheel of a Mercedes convertible when she lost control and smashed through the home. However, DNA evidence on the driver’s airbag proved otherwise, and prosecutors determined that said she made up the story, taking the fall for her boyfriend, 23 year-old Daniel Sajewski. Prosecutors said he convinced her to switch places with him before police arrived, CBS 2′s Carolyn Gusoff reported.
For the Love of….
“He told me the authorities would treat me lightly, that he would post bail for me, pay for my attorney and take me on a promised vacation to the Hamptons,” Anderson said.
Suffolk County District Attorney, Thomas Spota said Sajewski told Anderson to tell police “you have to say you were driving – I can’t afford to get into any more trouble.”
Anderson said she was intoxicated and high when she agreed to take responsibility, and by the time she sobered up, she thought it was too late to change her story.
“He actually drove right with the tree, an entire 30-foot tree which he uprooted, right through the kitchen and into the back of the house,” Spota said.
Sajewski convinced her to go along with the plan by promising her that the arrest would be “no big deal” and insisting he had more to lose since he was already on probation for drug charges.
Sajewski is now facing multiple charges that include driving while intoxicated, reckless endangerment and making false statements.
“I feel betrayed by a man who I was in love with and lived with for two years,” Anderson said, fighting back tears. “I feel Dan manipulated me and took advantage of our relationship and his actions were abusive and devastating.”
Sajewski pleaded not guilty Wednesday to an 11-count indictment and was ordered held without bail on a prior probation violation.
The residents of the destroyed home, both in their 90s, were uninjured. They hope to return to their home by Thanksgiving. They were not in court to hear her apology but said this has been a most upsetting ordeal.
Anderson confessed to her attorneys that her boyfriend, Daniel Sajewski, 23, convinced her to take the blame.
“I want to apologize to Helen Indiere and her sister, Virginia Bennett, who were innocently sleeping inside their home the night of the accident,” Anderson said.
When police arrived at the scene of the accident, Anderson told them she was behind the wheel of a Mercedes convertible when she lost control and smashed through the home. However, DNA evidence on the driver’s airbag proved otherwise, and prosecutors determined that said she made up the story, taking the fall for her boyfriend, 23 year-old Daniel Sajewski. Prosecutors said he convinced her to switch places with him before police arrived, CBS 2′s Carolyn Gusoff reported.
For the Love of….
“He told me the authorities would treat me lightly, that he would post bail for me, pay for my attorney and take me on a promised vacation to the Hamptons,” Anderson said.
Suffolk County District Attorney, Thomas Spota said Sajewski told Anderson to tell police “you have to say you were driving – I can’t afford to get into any more trouble.”
Anderson said she was intoxicated and high when she agreed to take responsibility, and by the time she sobered up, she thought it was too late to change her story.
“He actually drove right with the tree, an entire 30-foot tree which he uprooted, right through the kitchen and into the back of the house,” Spota said.
Sajewski convinced her to go along with the plan by promising her that the arrest would be “no big deal” and insisting he had more to lose since he was already on probation for drug charges.
Sajewski is now facing multiple charges that include driving while intoxicated, reckless endangerment and making false statements.
“I feel betrayed by a man who I was in love with and lived with for two years,” Anderson said, fighting back tears. “I feel Dan manipulated me and took advantage of our relationship and his actions were abusive and devastating.”
Sajewski pleaded not guilty Wednesday to an 11-count indictment and was ordered held without bail on a prior probation violation.
The residents of the destroyed home, both in their 90s, were uninjured. They hope to return to their home by Thanksgiving. They were not in court to hear her apology but said this has been a most upsetting ordeal.