A mother and her two daughters were killed Saturday in Brooklyn when a driver with a suspended license slammed into an Uber and careened into the family as they walked home from synagogue.
Natasha Saada, 35, and her two daughters, Diana, 7, and Debra, 5, were among those killed in the tragic crash Saturday.
Phillip, the woman’s four-year-old son, was also struck and remains in critical condition, according to authorities.
The bloodbath left nine people injured.
Miriam Yarimi, the driver of the Audi that struck the teens, was arrested, but no charges had been filed by early Sunday, according to sources.
An Uber driver in a Toyota Camry and an Audi collided shortly after 1 p.m. on Ocean Parkway near Quentin Road in Gravesend, a predominantly Orthodox Jewish neighborhood.
“The bang I heard, it was like an earthquake,” a witness told The Post. “It went on for about 30 seconds. “It felt like the world had stopped for that second.”
Yarimi’s car continued forward and crashed into a crosswalk, killing the 35-year-old mother and her two daughters, ages eight and six, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch at a press conference at the scene.
“This was a horrific tragedy caused by someone who shouldn’t have been on the road,” Tisch said during a press conference at the scene. A resident told The Post that the family was Orthodox Jews returning from synagogue when they were struck.
Yarimi, 32, was taken to New York University’s Langone Hospital in Brooklyn. According to records on the “How’s My Driving” website, the Audi driver has a history of reckless driving, having received 15 school zone speeding and red-light tickets in the last year.
According to the records site, the car has received 20 speed camera tickets, five red light tickets, and dozens of parking infractions since August 2023, totaling more than $10,000 in fines.
The 62-year-old Camry driver was transported to Coney Island Hospital in stable condition.
Both drivers were expected to be tested for drunk driving.
According to a resident, Saada’s husband was home with the couple’s infant at the time of the crash.
“My neighbor had to go to the husband and tell him that his wife and two children had passed away,” the resident told The Post. “He lost two of his four children in one day. “Plus his wife.”
The four-year-old boy in critical condition underwent successful surgery, delighting well-wishers and family members who waited for results at the hospital Saturday night.
“The child will make it. The surgery was successful. Everyone is discussing it. The entire hospital is talking about it. “Everyone in Brooklyn is talking about it,” the grieving family’s friend told The Post, adding, “Yes, the community is very supportive.” However, the father will never be the same. His wife was his biggest supporter, and now she’s gone.”
Neighbors extolled the virtues of the late mother of four.
“She was an angelic woman,” a neighbor told The Post. “This is more than a tragedy.” She was a stellar woman with admirable qualities who was an excellent mother.”
Photos from the aftermath showed a victim’s legs and bare feet protruding from one of the wrecked vehicles while first responders worked nearby.
One eyewitness to the horror claimed to have picked up Saada’s wig from the ground at the accident scene.
“I saw that wig. In the center of the street. I saw the wig. These wigs are expensive, you know; they cost more than $1,000. So I decided to pick up the wig. “I had no idea the woman was…” the man exclaimed, overcome with emotion.
In a tragic irony, the driver of the AUDI, Yarimi, is a wigmaker with the vanity plate “WIGM8KER.”
Paramedics inside an ambulance could be seen desperately treating a child with his arm in a sling. Children’s shoes were strewn across the pavement (inset), as onlookers crowded around the mangled vehicles.
One of the first responders was seen on his knees, weeping.
The three Uber passengers — two children and an adult — were transported to Kings County Hospital in stable condition.
The unspeakable tragedy took place on a beautiful Saturday in the close-knit neighborhood, where temperatures reached a high of 80 degrees as worshippers filled the streets after Sabbath services.
According to the witness, the neighborhood was packed with people “like Manhattan on Christmas,” before it turned into a nightmare.
“It is a shock,” he said. “I believe everyone who witnessed this was on their way home from synagogue around 1 p.m. The streets are crowded with pedestrians.”
Mayor Adams described the accident as a tragedy of “Shakespearean proportions”
“A mother going for a simple stroll on a sunny day was struck and killed,” Adams stated at a separate event. “I cannot imagine the pain of the family.”
