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Woman in deadly Brooklyn crash said 'people are out to get me,' prosecutors say
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Apr 3, 2025
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Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Apr 3, 2025
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The 32-year-old Brooklyn woman accused of barreling her Audi A3 into a family of pedestrians last weekend — killing a mother and her two daughters — told arresting officers “the devil is in my eyes” and “people are out to get me,” prosecutors said Thursday.
Miriam Yarimi — a wigmaker who authorities say had received dozens of speeding tickets since 2023, and had a suspended license at the time of the crash — was arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court on Thursday, appearing over video from a hospital bed, dressed in a yellow gown. She faces a slew of charges, including manslaughter, assault, criminally negligent homicide, reckless driving and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, among others.
Yarimi kept her eyes lowered for the majority of her court appearance, taking a deep breath as the prosecutor described the incident. She did not enter a plea, pending an indictment by a grand jury but her attorney said Yarimi denied all the allegations.
Police said Yarimi was speeding when she crashed into a for-hire car, pushing it aside and then hitting the family as they crossed the street. The NYPD said 34-year-old Natasha Saada and her daughters, 8-year-old Diana Saada and 5-year-old Deborah Saada, were pronounced dead at the scene. Saada’s son, who was walking with them, was also struck and taken to Maimonides Medical Center in critical condition.
In court on Thursday, Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Nocella read out loud the statements that authorities say Yarimi made to police during her arrest.
“The devil is in my eyes. I am haunted inside. I didn't kill anyone. I didn't hurt anyone. Prove it. Show me proof. You have no proof. I didn't hurt anybody. Why am I being placed under arrest? I didn't hurt anyone,” she told police, according to Nocella.
In additional statements, Yarimi said she was raped by police when she was 14, asked where her daughter was and said she needed her lawyer before she spoke to police, according to Nocella. In December, Yarimi reportedly won a $2 million settlement from the city over a sexual abuse lawsuit in which she alleged she was forced into sex with an NYPD officer at age 14.
“People are out to get me. I need CT scans on my entire body. F--- you. I need a whole workup to get whatever is in my body out of it,” Yarimi told officers, according to Nocella. “Take these clothes off, they're in my way.”
Nocella asked the judge that Yarimi be detained, citing the severity of the charges and describing her as a flight risk.
At the hearing, Yarimi’s attorney Joseph Amsel asked for his client’s release.
“This is her first contact with the criminal justice system,” Amsel said. “She's 32 years old, your honor, a mother of a child. This case has received obviously a lot of press. She is not a flight risk. She is well-known.”
Judge Jevet Johnson said Yarimi would be held without bail. She also said Yarimi’s license would be suspended for driving dangerously, meaning if the insurance issue for which her license would remain suspended due to dangerous driving, even if the prior insurance-related suspension were resolved.
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brooklyn
Catalina Gonella
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