Miriam Yarimi, who killed three people on Ocean Parkway in March, was sentenced to three to nine years in prison on Wednesday.
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
The Brooklyn woman who sped through a red light and killed a mother and two children on Ocean Parkway earlier this year was sentenced to three to nine years in prison on Wednesday after accepting a plea deal for a shorter sentence.
Miriam Yarimi, 33, pleaded guilty to three counts of manslaughter as part of a plea deal offered by Judge Danny Chun last month, according to Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. The DA had recommended Yarimi receive the maximum sentence of five to 15 years in prison.
“This defendant is a reckless driver who cared about only herself when she raced in the streets of Brooklyn and wiped away nearly an entire family,” Gonzalez said in a statement. “She should not have been driving a car that day but, instead, she chose to callously ignore all traffic and safety laws when she caused this unspeakable carnage.”
Yarimi’s car on the scene of the crash in March. File photo by Lloyd Mitchell
Yarimi was tearful as she received her sentence in Brooklyn court on Wednesday, said she was remorseful and regretted her decision to get behind the wheel that day.
Herschel Kulefsky, a lawyer representing the victim’s family, said they were “outraged” by Yarimi’s sentence.
“Even the maximum sentence probably would not be sufficient in this case, but this is the bare minimum,” he told reporters outside the courthouse on Wednesday.
Kulefsky said they “don’t believe there is any remorse,” and that Yarimi’s apology “was only for the purpose of sentencing.” She had refused to apologize to the family previously, he added.
Yarimi was tearful as she received her sentence. Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
On March 29, Yarimi — who was driving with a suspended license — sped through a steady red light at the intersection of Ocean Parkway and Quentin Road, slammed into the back of a turning vehicle, and drove into 34-year-old Natasha Saada and her three children, who were crossing Ocean Parkway with the light.
The crash killed Saada and her two daughters, 8-year-old Diana and 5-year-old Deborah. Her 4-year-old son survived but suffered skull fractures, brain bleeds and had to have a kidney removed as a result of his injuries.
The five occupants of the first car Yarimi hit — an Uber driver, a mother and three children — also sustained minor injuries.
Yarimi’s car rolled several times before coming to a stop upside-down more than 100 feet from the crash site, according to the DA’s office. She suffered minor injuries, and had to be removed from her vehicle with the jaws of life.
Herschel Kulefsky, who represented the victim’s family, said he doubted Yamini’s sincerity.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
She had been traveling at 68 mph in a 25 mph zone, the investigation found, and did not apply the brakes before the impact. Surveillance footage showed her using her cell phone while running a different red light a block ahead of the crash site.
Gonzalez, in April, said the crash was “one of the worst I’ve seen in over 25 years as a prosecutor.” Records show that Yarimi, a wigmaker whose 2023 Audi had the license plate “WIGM8KER,” had racked up 108 parking and driving violations since 2023, including a violation for failure to stop at a red light just two days before the fatal crash.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
Additional reporting by Lloyd Mitchell.