‘They drive like crazy’: Neighbors after mom, kids killed in Brooklyn crash

GRAVESEND, Brooklyn (PIX11) – A car crash that killed a mother and two of her children in Brooklyn on Saturday has left neighbors frightened. Natasha Saada, 34, was in a crosswalk with her three children near Ocean Parkway and Quentin Road when an Audi sedan careened into them, according to authorities. Police said Saada and her daughters, 8-year-old Diana and 5-year-old Deborah, died when they were struck. “It’s very sad because, you know, the drivers, they drive like crazy,” Yadira Sallas told PIX11 News. Saada’s 4-year-old son was rushed to Maimonides Medical Center in critical condition, according to authorities. Police said 32-year-old Miriam Yarimi was charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and driving over the speed limit in connection with the crash. “Imagine that husband, he was just having lunch with his wife and beautiful kids and all of a sudden, a half hour later, he lost it all,” said neighbor Jack Sardar. State Sen. Andrew Gournades and Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher are headlining a Brooklyn Borough Hall rally on Monday, calling for mandated speed-capping devices in cars driven by repeated reckless drivers. The legislation that the two lawmakers are co-sponsoring would apply to those racking up more than 11 license points over two years or six speed or red light camera tickets in a single year. Yarimi was driving with a suspended license at the time of the accident, according to authorities. Gournades and Gallagher argue that speed-limiting technology has already earned a recommendation from the National Transportation Safety Board, which finds speed is a factor in about one-third of traffic deaths.