A mother and her two young daughters were killed Saturday afternoon in a tragic car crash on Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn, police said. The driver, identified as 32-year-old Miriam Yarimi, was operating her Audi with a suspended license when the collision occurred. Yarimi was arrested and charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.
The incident unfolded around 1 p.m. at the intersection of Ocean Parkway and Quentin Road in the Gravesend neighborhood. Yarimi’s Audi collided with a Toyota Camry, which was carrying a rideshare passenger and her three children. The impact forced the Camry off course, and the Audi continued into a crosswalk, striking Natasha Saada, 35, and her two daughters, Diana, 7, and Debra, 5, who were walking home from synagogue. Saada and her daughters were pronounced dead at the scene. Her 4-year-old son was critically injured and remains hospitalized.
Nine people in total were injured in the crash, including Yarimi and the 62-year-old Camry driver, both of whom were hospitalized in stable condition. The rideshare passengers, including two children, were treated for minor injuries.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch described the incident as a “horrific tragedy caused by someone who should not have been driving.” Yarimi’s Audi had accumulated more than 90 traffic violations in the past year, including 20 speeding tickets and five red-light violations, according to city records.
Authorities are investigating whether Yarimi ran a red light or was speeding at the time of the crash. Preliminary breathalyzer tests are also being conducted to determine if alcohol was a factor.
The tragedy has left the tight-knit Orthodox Jewish community in Gravesend devastated. “It’s shocking,” said a witness. “The streets were filled with families returning from synagogue when this nightmare unfolded.”
Yarimi on Sunday was charged with three counts of second-degree manslaughter, three counts of criminally negligent homicide, and four counts of second-degree assault.
Miriam Yarimi is an NYC wigmaker who goes by Ellie Yarimi (@iitsanellie) on Instagram, where she primarily shares photos of herself and her daughter.
The 32-year-old won a $2m settlement from the NYPD in June 2023 after winning a lawsuit alleging she was raped by a uniformed NYPD officer when she was a teenager, according to the NY Post.
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