NY Jewish community mourns after driver kills mom, 2 kids walking home from synagogue
Shabbat afternoon accident in south Brooklyn allegedly caused by Jewish wigmaker with suspended license and dozens of traffic tickets
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleLuke Tress is The Times of Israel's New York correspondent.
NEW YORK — Jews in New York City mourned on Sunday after a wig maker with a suspended license killed a Jewish mother and two children in a car crash in Brooklyn a day earlier.
The collision took place at around 1 p.m. on Saturday, during Shabbat, on Ocean Parkway in the Midwood neighborhood of south Brooklyn, an area with a large Jewish population.
Police said that a silver Toyota Camry was attempting to make a turn when it was hit in the rear bumper by an Audi sedan. The Camry was pushed aside and the Audi jetted forward, hitting four pedestrians.
The NYPD told The Times of Israel that the fatalities were a 34-year-old woman and two girls, aged eight and five. Orthodox media identified the deceased as Jewish community members who were hit while walking home from synagogue. A third child, a boy, was transported to Maimonides Medical Center in critical condition, police said.
The victims were later named as Natasha (Sara) Saada, 34, and her daughters Diana, eight, and Debra, five.
The three were to be flown to Israel and laid to rest in Jerusalem’s Har HaMenuchot.
BREAKING
Mom, her two kids mowed down in gruesome NYC collision by motorist with suspended license pic.twitter.com/aI2H2qivSe— Simo Saadi???????????????? (@Simo7809957085) March 29, 2025
New York City Mayor Eric Adams called the collision “a tragic accident of Shakespearean proportion.”
“This is a very close-knit community, a very religious community,” Adams said at a Saturday press conference in the area of the accident. “This is extremely concerning and painful, not only to the city of New York in general, but specifically to a very close-knit community.”
Community members circulated calls for prayers, and Brooklyn Jewish lawmakers mourned the deaths as preparations took place for the funeral on Sunday. Adams and other city officials visited the grieving father.
Chai Lifeline, a Jewish nonprofit that provides trauma and medical care, held counseling sessions for hundreds of children, teachers and parents from the victims’ school. The group urged parents to support their children’s emotional responses to the tragedy, limit media exposure about the accident, monitor signs of distress and stick to normal routines.
Natasha Saada and her 2 daughters, Diana, 8, and Debra, 5, were killed by a driver as they were walking home from Shabbos services in Midwood.
My heart goes out to the family and the entire community. Please keep Philip in your heart, he is 4 years old and fighting for his life. pic.twitter.com/LEMPrYJYAq
— Justin Brannan (@JustinBrannan) March 31, 2025
The NYPD said the driver of the Audi, Miriam Yarimi, 32, had been arrested. Yarimi had to be extricated from her vehicle by the fire department and was hospitalized in stable condition. Five passengers in the Camry suffered minor injuries, police said.
Yarimi appears to be Jewish, posting photos online marking Shabbat, Jewish holidays including Purim and Passover, and writing “Thank you Hashem” after winning a lawsuit against the NYPD earlier this year.
Her social media says she runs a wig store and she often shared photos of clients. Last year, she posted a photo of herself with a blue Audi that has the license plate “WIGM8KER.”
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who is Jewish, said Yarimi was driving with a suspended license and that “speed certainly may have been a factor.” Yarimi reportedly had dozens of traffic violations on her record.
She has been charged with crimes including three counts of manslaughter, three counts of criminally negligent homicide, assault, reckless driving and other traffic violations.
“This was a horrific tragedy caused by someone who shouldn’t have been on the road,” Tisch said.
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