Peekskill woman pleads guilty in Manhattan stolen-car crash that injured 2 kids, 3 adults

A Peekskill woman who crashed a stolen car into two children and three other pedestrians in Washington Heights last year has pleaded guilty, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office said.

Sharon Godwin was promised a state prison term of 4 1/2 years before pleading guilty to second-degree assault Wednesday, the day before her 34th birthday, in Manhattan state Supreme Court.

Sentencing was scheduled for Oct. 22.

“Addressing vehicular violence is an essential part of ensuring comprehensive public safety," Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg said in a news release announcing the guilty plea. "We will hold reckless drivers accountable for the harm they inflict on pedestrians, bikers and other motorists, and I hope the victims in this incident can continue to make a full recovery from their injuries."

On March 15, 2023, Godwin was driving a car that she had stolen in Yonkers when she crashed into the five pedestrians on the sidewalk at Broadway and West 190 ^th Street, according to the district attorney’s release. Two of the victims suffered broken femurs, one had a torn anterior cruciate ligament, and two others had substantial bleeding.

When arrested at the scene a short time later Godwin gave police the name of another Peekskill woman using a stolen ID, according to the New York Post at the time. The charges were initially filed under that woman's name but she was cleared after a fingerprint check identified Godwin, The Post reported.

Godwin was indicted a month after the crash on charges including first-degree assault and criminal possession of stolen property and would have faced up to 25 years in prison had she gone to trial and been convicted of the top assault charge.

Godwin is currently serving a state prison term for a 2020 grand larceny conviction from a theft in Peekskill. She was initially given probation in 2022 but was sent to prison in the case following her Manhattan arrest, according to Westchester court documents.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Peekskill woman pleads guilty in Manhattan stolen-car crash that injured 2 kids, 3 adults