A Brooklyn woman accused of fatally running over a haredi mother and her two daughters allegedly told first responders she was “possessed” and “had the devil in me,” according to sources familiar with the investigation quoted by The New York Post.
Miriam Yarimi, 35, now facing manslaughter charges, made the unsettling remarks to members of the Hatzolah Jewish ambulance service after her Audi overturned in the devastating Saturday afternoon crash in Gravesend, law enforcement sources told The New York Post.
In the days leading up to the tragedy, Yarimi had reportedly expressed paranoid fears that she was being targeted by the CIA. Following the crash, she was transported to Bellevue Hospital’s prison ward for a psychiatric evaluation before her arraignment, sources said.
A funeral service was held Sunday for Natasha Saada, 32, and her daughters, Diana, 7, and Deborah, 5, who lost their lives in the crash. Saada’s four-year-old son, Philip, was critically injured.
Her father is expected to accompany the remains of his daughter and granddaughters to Israel for burial, while Saada’s husband remains in Brooklyn to care for their surviving child and sit shiva, sources said.
At the time of the crash, Yarimi was driving on a suspended license and refused to answer police questions, instead requesting a lawyer, according to law enforcement sources.
Her vehicle, bearing the license plate “WIGM8KER,” had amassed an alarming 93 traffic violations, including 20 speed-camera tickets and five red-light infractions since August 2023, amounting to over $10,000 in fines, online records show. She was cited as recently as March 16 for allegedly speeding through a Brooklyn school zone.
Dashcam footage captured the horrifying moment her Audi struck the victims after colliding with an Uber, sending the vehicle onto the sidewalk where multiple pedestrians were injured.