Brooklyn crash that killed mom, young daughters prompts calls for change in Albany
BOROUGH PARK, Brooklyn (WABC) -- Lawmakers and advocates are demanding action and saying something must be done about speeding drivers after a mother and her two young children were killed in Brooklyn this weekend.
Miriam Yarimi, 32, is hospitalized for psychiatric evaluation at Bellevue Hospital as she awaits arraignment in the weekend crash that killed three family members and left a 4-year-old boy in critical condition.
That boy remains at Maimonides Medical Center in Borough Park. His 32-year-old mother Natasha Saada and older sisters, 5-year-old Deborah and 8-year-old Diana, were flown to Israel overnight for burial later Monday.
The fatal crash happened just after 1 p.m. on Saturday on Ocean Parkway off Quentin Road in Midwood.
The car was believed to going roughly 50 mph -- twice the speed limit of 25 mph.
Police say Saada and her three children were crossing the street when Yarimi, who was driving an Audi, rear-ended a Toyota Camry. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the impact caused the Toyota Camry to be pushed aside, while the Audi continued forward, striking the mother and her kids in the crosswalk.
Yarimi's blue Audi A3 sedan had 99 parking and camera violations between August 2023 and March 2025, including 21 speed camera tickets and five red light tickets, with nearly $10,500 in fines, according to howsmydrivingnyc, a website that tracks violations using city data.
A vehicle with the same license plate still has $1,345 in unpaid fines, according to NYCServ.
Yarimi told first responders with Hatzolah that she was "possessed" and the CIA was following her.
Her neighbor, Angie Strutska, said the suspect seemed nice at first but started sending her strange messages.
She said that Yarimi told their upstairs neighbor that she worked for the federal agency and was a spy.
"She needed help, don't know if she had family problems, she was a lonely person," Strutska said.
The crash has renewed calls for lawmakers to support legislation in Albany that would require drivers who rack up more than six speed-camera or red-light tickets to install a speed limiter in their car, barring them from exceeding the speed limit by more than five miles per hour.
Yarimi is facing charges of manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and assault.
----------
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News
Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.
