Mother, 2 children killed in Brooklyn crash; driver faces manslaughter, other charges

A Brooklyn mother and her two children were struck and killed at a crosswalk by a woman driving on a suspended license in the Midwood neighborhood on Saturday afternoon, officials said.

A 4-year-old boy in the same family was severely injured and was “fighting for his life” in Maimonides Medical Center, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference on Saturday afternoon. The boy was listed in critical condition Sunday.

“A mother, going for a simple stroll on a sunny day, was struck and killed. We pray for their families and this entire community. The city mourns this loss,” Mayor Eric Adams said Saturday, calling it a tragedy of “Shakespearean proportions.”

The collision happened just after 1 p.m. when a silver 2023 Toyota Camry traveling on Quentin Road turned north onto Ocean Parkway and was struck from behind by a blue Audi A3 sedan allegedly driven by Miriam Yarimi, 32, whose license is suspended, Tisch said. The impact of the collision hurled the Camry to the side, and Yarimi’s Audi allegedly continued, plowing into the mother and her three children before it overturned, the commissioner said.

The mother, Natasha Saada, 34, and her daughters, Diana, 8, and Deborah, 5, were pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.

Yarimi was hospitalized in stable condition, the NYPD said Sunday. Yarimi was charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, according to police officials.

She also faces charges of assault, reckless driving, driving a car without a valid license and speeding, among others. Officials did not say Sunday how fast she was allegedly driving and why her license had been suspended.

First responders took the Camry driver, 63, who is licensed with the Taxi & Limousine Commission, to NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health, where he was in stable condition, Tisch said Saturday.

The passengers of the Camry, an adult and three children, were taken to NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County for minor injuries.

Police were investigating the cause of the accident. The light sequence has not yet been determined, Tisch said.