Lawmakers and community activists are calling for action after a mother and her two young daughters were killed by a speeding driver in Brooklyn over the weekend.
The driver, 32-year-old Miriam Yarimi, is currently undergoing a mental health evaluation at Bellevue Hospital while she waits to be formally charged. The crash left a 4-year-old boy in critical condition.
The injured boy is being treated at Maimonides Medical Center in Borough Park. His mother, 32-year-old Natasha Saada, and his sisters—5-year-old Deborah and 8-year-old Diana—were flown to Israel for burial on Monday.
The deadly crash happened around 1 p.m. Saturday on Ocean Parkway near Quentin Road in the Midwood area. The car involved was reportedly going about 50 mph—double the legal speed limit of 25 mph.
Police say Saada and her three children were crossing the street when Yarimi, driving an Audi, crashed into a Toyota Camry. The crash pushed the Camry aside and the Audi kept moving, hitting the family in the crosswalk.
Records show Yarimi’s blue Audi A3 had 99 traffic violations between August 2023 and March 2025, including 21 speeding tickets and 5 red light violations, with fines totaling nearly $10,500. The car still has $1,345 in unpaid tickets.
Yarimi told emergency responders that she believed she was “possessed” and being followed by the CIA.
A neighbor, Angie Strutska, said Yarimi seemed friendly at first but began acting strangely, sending odd messages and claiming to work as a spy for the government. Strutska said Yarimi appeared to be lonely and possibly dealing with personal issues.
The crash has sparked renewed efforts to pass a law in Albany that would require drivers with more than six speed or red light camera violations to install a device in their car that prevents them from going more than five mph over the speed limit.
Yarimi is now facing charges including manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and assault.
