Driver in tragic Ocean Parkway crash in Brooklyn charged with manslaughter

    BROOKLYN, New York (WCBS) -- The driver arrested following a tragic crash on Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn is facing a long list of charges, including manslaughter.

New York City police said Miriam Yarimi, 32, was driving with a suspended license and speeding when she fatally struck a mother and her children at a Midwood crosswalk after hitting another car's rear bumper.

Natasha Saada, 34, and her daughters, 8-year-old Diana and 5-year-old Deborah, were pronounced dead at the hospital. Her 4-year-old son, Philip, remains hospitalized in critical condition.

Multiple pedestrians were killed after two cars collided at Quentin Road and Ocean Parkway on Saturday, March 29, 2025, in Midwood, Brooklyn, NYPD said.

The FDNY had to extricate Yarimi from her blue 2023 Audi A3 after the crash Saturday afternoon on Ocean Parkway by Quentin Avenue. She was taken to the hospital in stable condition.

All five people in the 2023 Toyota Camry that was initially struck, including the 63-year-old driver, a 35-year-old woman and three children between the ages of 4-12, were treated for minor injuries, according to NYPD.

"I will call it like it is. This was a horrific tragedy caused by someone who shouldn't have been on the road. A mother and two young children ... killed, another child fighting for his life. A family and a neighborhood devastated in an instant," NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said during a press conference at the scene. "The NYPD sends its condolences to the family of the victims. May their memories be a blessing."

Yarimi was charged with three counts of second-degree manslaughter, three counts of criminally negligent homicide, four counts of second-degree assault, reckless driving, failing to yield, speeding and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, police said Sunday.

Yarimi is expected to be arraigned as early as Monday.

"When you discover that it was done by someone who has 93 violations, $10,000 of unpaid fines, it's unbelievable," Assemblyman Michael Novakhov said.

Police did not immediately say why Yarimi's license was suspended.

To help prevent further tragedies like this, the group Families for Safe Streets is currently fighting for a law in Albany that would install a speed-limiting device in vehicles of repeat offenders.

"Drivers like her who are super-speeders, who speed like this and put our families in danger," said Dahlia Goldenberg of Families for Safe Streets.

"They were great people. You could see it" There was a show of support for grieving husband and father Sidney Saada at his Midwood home, which is just minutes from where his family was killed.

Meyer Weill, of group Misaskim, which provides support for mourning families in the Jewish community, described the father as appearing strong during this time of immense grief. Weill said the community is helping him clear out his home to make room for mourners to come show him support throughout the next seven days of mourning, known as shiva.

"He's inside being supported by family and friends very well, and he's holding up. This is the quiet time," Weill said, adding "thousands" of people are expected to show up to pay their respects. "People that may not even know him are gonna come just because of the tragedy."

A neighbor, who didn't wish to appear on camera, lives across the street from the Saada family and told CBS News New York, "The kids would always say hi to strangers. That's the way she brought them up, great person."

He said he has grandchildren around the same age as the two young girls killed, and that he'd always see the mother taking them to and picking them up from the bus stop.

"They were great people. You could see it," he said.

"It's so unfortunate. Beautiful people. Kind people. Charitable people," family friend Jojo Robi added.

The burial for the mother and two daughters is expected to take place in Israel as soon as Monday.