By: Chaya Abecassis

The Brooklyn woman who barreled down Ocean Parkway in a speeding Audi and plowed into a young mother and her children—killing two of them and grievously injuring a third—secured a sharply reduced plea deal last month over the objections of prosecutors, igniting widespread anger across the borough’s tight-knit communities. According to a report that appeared on Monday in The New York Post, 33-year-old wigmaker Miriam Yarimi quietly pleaded guilty to manslaughter after Judge Danny Chen offered a sentence of just three to nine years, far below the 15-year maximum Brooklyn prosecutors had sought.

The plea agreement, which emerged from court records reviewed by The New York Post, stunned both legal observers and residents still reeling from the horror of the March crash that claimed the lives of 7-year-old Diana Saada and 5-year-old Deborah Saada, leaving their 4-year-old brother Philip severely injured. Their mother, Natasha Saada, was also struck as she walked with her children along the broad boulevard that has long been notorious for reckless speeding.

In a statement carried prominently in The New York Post report, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez condemned Yarimi’s conduct with unsparing language, saying, “The lives of Natasha Saada and her young daughters were stolen by the callous choices of a chronically reckless driver on Ocean Parkway.” While acknowledging the court’s plea offer fell short of what prosecutors had fought for, Gonzalez insisted the case would nonetheless deliver a strong message that “reckless driving that ends in tragedy will be met with serious penalties.” His office is preparing a detailed letter, to be submitted ahead of Wednesday’s sentencing, laying out the grounds for seeking a stiffer term than the judge’s proposed deal.

The March crash, which The New York Post report described as “horrific” and “devastating,” sent shockwaves throughout South Brooklyn’s Jewish community, where the Saada family was well known and deeply connected. The tragedy also reignited longstanding fears about Ocean Parkway, one of the city’s most infamous speed corridors. Residents and local leaders have repeatedly called for stronger enforcement measures, pointing to a pattern of fatal crashes involving motorists traveling far beyond the posted speed limit.

At the center of this firestorm is Yarimi, a wigmaker whose vanity license plate “WIGM8KER” became a grim symbol of the case. According to data reviewed by The New York Post, Yarimi had amassed more than 93 traffic violations over recent years—including 20 speeding tickets—and had racked up over $10,000 in fines. Worse still, she was operating her Audi A4 on a suspended license when she tore down Ocean Parkway, slammed into an Uber vehicle, and ricocheted into the Saada family.

Her record, prosecutors argued, revealed a pattern of unchecked recklessness and defiance of traffic laws so extreme that allowing her back on the road constituted a clear and present danger. The New York Post report emphasized that this record was central to the prosecution’s push for the maximum allowable sentence—but ultimately did not persuade the judge.

In the immediate aftermath of the crash, witnesses and first responders described alarming behavior from Yarimi, who reportedly made wild, incoherent claims that she was “possessed,” that she “had the devil in me,” and that she bore no responsibility for the carnage she had caused, according to sources cited by The New York Post. When confronted by police, she insisted: “I didn’t kill anyone. I didn’t hurt anyone. Prove it. Show me proof.”

Those unhinged statements were not isolated incidents. Friends and acquaintances told The New York Post that Yarimi had long exhibited erratic behavior—behavior that seemed to simmer beneath the glamorous persona she cultivated online. Her social media accounts showcased luxury fashion, high-performance cars, and exotic vacations, creating an image of flash and confidence. But those same platforms, The New York Post reported, were also riddled with paranoid conspiracy theories, disturbing rants, and videos that suggested emotional volatility. One 2024 clip showed her in a bikini, raging at police officers as they attempted to carry out a psychiatric arrest.

Yarimi’s personal history, too, is marked by turmoil. According to court documents reviewed by The New York Post, she secured a $2 million settlement in 2023 after alleging she had been coerced into sex by an NYPD officer when she was just 14 years old. That traumatic chapter, her friends suggested, was part of a broader picture of instability masked by an outward, curated lifestyle.

For the Saada family and the broader community, however, the focus remains on accountability for the deaths of two little girls and the shattering of their once-ordinary walk along Ocean Parkway. The New York Post has chronicled the ongoing grief of neighbors and community leaders, many of whom have questioned how a driver with such an egregious record was allowed to remain behind the wheel at all. The crash prompted renewed calls for automated speed enforcement, redesigning dangerous intersections, and harsher consequences for serial violators—issues that have haunted the city for years but seemed freshly urgent in the aftermath of the tragedy.

As Yarimi awaits sentencing, prosecutors hope their forthcoming letter will persuade Judge Chen to impose a tougher penalty than the proposed deal suggests. Activists and family members have expressed outrage that the plea offer came despite the prosecution’s objections, a dynamic that The New York Post report noted has become a flashpoint in debates about judicial discretion and public safety.

For now, the community clings to the hope that Wednesday’s hearing will bring some measure of justice for Diana and Deborah, two young girls whose lives were cut short by what prosecutors have called “chronically reckless” and utterly preventable choices. And as The New York Post report observed, the case stands as a stark reminder of the human cost of unchecked dangerous driving—and of the fragility of life on one of Brooklyn’s busiest and most perilous streets.