Brooklyn Driver Sentenced to Up to 9 Years in Prison for Fatal Crash that Claimed Mother's Life and Killed Two Daughters
A Brooklyn resident, Miriam Yarimi, was sentenced to three to nine years in prison on Wednesday for her role in a fatal car crash that killed a mother of two and injured their young son. The incident occurred last spring in Midwood, where Yarimi plowed her car into pedestrians, including Natasha Saada and her daughters, Diana and Deborah.
According to prosecutors, Yarimi's Audi was traveling at an excessive speed of 68 mph in a 25 mph zone when she failed to stop and crashed into the family. The driver showed little remorse during her plea hearing, which took place just days before her sentencing.
In a bizarre display of behavior, Yarimi told police that "the devil is in my eyes" and claimed to be haunted after being arrested at the scene. She had also made headlines earlier this year for winning a $2 million settlement against the city in a sexual abuse lawsuit alleging she was forced into sex with an NYPD officer.
Yarimi's defense team argued that prosecutors were cherry-picking quotes from her phone calls, but Yarimi's apology in court seemed to ring hollow. When asked by the judge if she took full responsibility for her actions, Yarimi claimed "I'll have to deal with this for the rest of my life and I think that's a punishment in itself."
The family's attorney, Joseph Amsel, was less than satisfied with the sentence, stating that it did not adequately reflect Yarimi's culpability. The prosecution had recommended a maximum prison sentence of five to 15 years.
Yarimi will be eligible for parole after serving three years, but her case has already sparked concerns about safety on Ocean Parkway, where at least 15 people have been killed in crashes since 2017.
A Brooklyn resident, Miriam Yarimi, was sentenced to three to nine years in prison on Wednesday for her role in a fatal car crash that killed a mother of two and injured their young son. The incident occurred last spring in Midwood, where Yarimi plowed her car into pedestrians, including Natasha Saada and her daughters, Diana and Deborah.
According to prosecutors, Yarimi's Audi was traveling at an excessive speed of 68 mph in a 25 mph zone when she failed to stop and crashed into the family. The driver showed little remorse during her plea hearing, which took place just days before her sentencing.
In a bizarre display of behavior, Yarimi told police that "the devil is in my eyes" and claimed to be haunted after being arrested at the scene. She had also made headlines earlier this year for winning a $2 million settlement against the city in a sexual abuse lawsuit alleging she was forced into sex with an NYPD officer.
Yarimi's defense team argued that prosecutors were cherry-picking quotes from her phone calls, but Yarimi's apology in court seemed to ring hollow. When asked by the judge if she took full responsibility for her actions, Yarimi claimed "I'll have to deal with this for the rest of my life and I think that's a punishment in itself."
The family's attorney, Joseph Amsel, was less than satisfied with the sentence, stating that it did not adequately reflect Yarimi's culpability. The prosecution had recommended a maximum prison sentence of five to 15 years.
Yarimi will be eligible for parole after serving three years, but her case has already sparked concerns about safety on Ocean Parkway, where at least 15 people have been killed in crashes since 2017.
i mean its shocking she wasnt more remorseful considering what happened her kids were literally 2 & 4 yrs old 
theyre lucky their little bro is still alive btw i cant even believe she claimed to be haunted by the devil lol like come on girl get a grip. i feel for the Saada family, they deserve so much better than this 
and yeah its not fair that her sentence didnt reflect how serious it was. 9 yrs feels kinda low considering the damage she caused. at least shes getting parolled after 3 yrs tho 
! Can't believe the audacity of that driver, Miriam Yarimi. Her defense team trying to spin it like she's just "haunted" and not fully responsible for her actions? Give me a break 
. She got behind the wheel of a speeding car and killed an innocent family... no amount of psychological mumbo-jumbo excuses that 
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Unbelievable. And 3-9 years in prison? That's way too lenient if you ask me...
I just saw this news and I'm still trying to process it... like, how does someone do that? drive into innocent people and not even show any remorse? 
I mean, I've heard of drivers being reckless, but this is on a whole other level. The fact that she was driving 68 mph in a 25 mph zone is just insane... what's going through someone's mind when they're doing something like that? 
And yeah, the whole 'devil is in my eyes' thing? 
and that apology? straight from the playbook of a desperate person 
. i gotta say, the city paying her $2 million for sexual abuse is still lowkey shady tho... anywayz, 9 yrs seems like a good punishment for her crimes to me 
! I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that some people think tech advancements are gonna save us from problems like this. Newsflash: just because we can drive a car without human error doesn't mean it's automatically safe. I mean, what about autonomous cars? They're supposed to be more efficient and accident-free, but do they account for human error at all? 
. We need to take responsibility for our actions, not rely on technology to bail us out every time we mess up.
. A sentence of 3-9 years may seem harsh, but for the families of Natasha Saada and her two daughters, justice is about more than just numbers 
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