A New York City wigmaker who claimed she was ‘possessed’ when she mowed down a mother and her two young daughters was handed a lenient plea deal against the wishes of prosecutors.
Miriam Yarimi, 33, pleaded guilty last month to manslaughter charges in the horrific March 29 crash that killed Natasha Saada, 34, and her daughters, Diana, eight, and Deborah, five, and left Saada’s son, Philip, four, critically injured.
This week, Judge Danny Chen offered the aspiring social media star a sentence of three to nine years behind bars – far less than the 15-year maximum sentence Brooklyn prosecutors were asking for, according to the New York Post.
Prosecutors now plan to submit a letter to the judge detailing the reasons why Yarimi – who has a history of traffic violations and was driving with a suspended license at the time of the crash – should be locked up longer ahead of her sentencing on Wednesday.
‘The lives of Natasha Saada and her young daughters were stolen by the callous choices of a chronically reckless driver on Ocean Parkway,’ Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement.
‘Though the proposed sentence falls short of the maximum we sought, it will still send a clear message that reckless driving that ends in tragedy will be met with serious penalties,’ he added.
Authorities have said Yarimi ran multiple red lights and drove nearly three times the speed limit when she crashed her Audi A3 into a Toyota Camry acting as an Uber, which sent her car careening into the Saada family as they were crossing the road, the New York Daily News reports.
Miriam Yarimi, 33, a glamorous New York City wigmaker pleaded guilty last month to manslaughter charges in a horrific crash on March 29
The crash killed Natasha Saada, 34, and her daughters, Diana, eight, and Deborah, five, and left Saada’s son, Philip, four, critically injured.
Authorities said Yarimi ran multiple red lights and drove nearly three times the speed limit when she crashed her vehicle
Black box data from her vehicle also suggested Yarimi had the gas pedal to the floor as she drove, and never tried to hit the brakes.
Medics rushed the family of four to the hospital, where the mother and her daughters died, while her son remained in critical condition after suffering from skull fractures and a bleed on the brain.
The driver of another vehicle, which flipped upside down, also suffered minor injuries, while in the Uber, a mother and her three children as well as the driver were injured, ABC 7 reported.
Meanwhile, Yarimi had to be forcibly removed from the vehicle by firefighters.
When police then arrived on the scene, the wigmaker allegedly snapped at them.
‘What the f*** is taking so long. Motherf***er, get me the f*** out of here. No, you want a minute. No, you f***ing wait a minute,’ she allegedly said.
‘Get out of my way, you b***. F*** you.’
The verbal abuse continued as she was taken to hospital, as she continued: ‘Take me out of these cuffs. Why can’t you uncuff me? I am a wigmaker.’
‘Uncuff me. I want my lawyer. Where’s my lawyer? I need my lawyer if I’m going to speak to the cops,’ she continued.
Black box data from her Audi suggested she had the gas pedal to the floor as she drove and never tried to hit the brakes
She collided into a Toyota Camry acting as an Uber, which sent her car careening into the Saada family as they were crossing the road
She then allegedly said she was ‘possessed’, and went onto claim that she ‘had the devil’ in her eye and said: ‘F*** you, I need a whole work-up to get whatever is in my body out of it.’
Yarimi was also asking for her daughter and claimed, while in custody, that she ‘didn’t kill anyone,’ CBS News reported.
Prosecutors further said the wigmaker told officers, ‘People are out to get me.’
Yarimi also refused to take a breathalyzer test said allegedly told a detective: ‘I do not want to put my breath on something that is going to contain my DNA… No, I’m good. Want to smell my breath? There’s no alcohol on my breath.’
‘Sure, go for it. I’m just saying I don’t like my DNA on things,’ she continued.
In the aftermath, childhood friend Ahuva Katzin told the Post that Yarimi had a history of unstable behavior, and that she had come from a ‘nerdy religious’ family.
‘Her happy phases always go to religion. Like every other week you’ll see she’s religious and then the next she’s not religious.
‘She’ll swear that she’s going to keep Shabbat, and then three days later you’ll see her on a cruise in a photo that was taken on Shabbat.’
They added that Yarimi was ‘devastated’ after her affair with a married NYPD officer, which started when she was 14, abruptly ended.
She later sued the city over the illegal tryst and won a $2 million settlement last year, the Post reported.
Meanwhile, Yarimi continued to share photos and videos of her glamorous life on social media, where would post paranoid conspiracy theories.
Following the crash, Yarimi reportedly asked about her daughter
At the time of the crash, Yarimi had more than 93 traffic violations, 20 speeding tickets and $10,000 in fines.
The violations included tickets for speeding through a school zone, running a red light and parking over a fire hydrant.
With those past violations, District Attorney Gonzalez previously argued it ‘is very clear’ that Yarimi ‘should not have been on the road that day.
‘Had she not been on the road driving that Audi on that day, the family would have survived this terrible incident,’ he noted, describing the crash as ‘one of the worst collisions that I have ever seen on a New York City street.’
Yarimi’s attorney Joe Amsel, though, have argued that ‘people should hold their judgement’ as he questioned whether his client ever actually received a notification that her license was suspended.
However, previous court records indicate that this is not her first violent offence following a run in with her neighbor and a hammer.
Yarimi shared photos of her glamorous life on social media
She would also post paranoid conspiracy theories on her social media pages
The wigmaker had an eviction petition filed against her by her landlord in April 2024 after she allegedly banged on her neighbor’s door with a hammer and ‘verbally’ abused them.
The neighbor told the New York Post that she had tried to attack them with a hammer in their apartment.
Court records obtained by the outlet accused Yarimi of pounding on her neighbor’s door while ‘verbally abusing, cursing, threatening, yelling and screaming.’
The woman told the Post she had ‘no idea’ why Yarimi targeted her apartment. She allegedly damaged the door and ruined the keypad.
‘It’s very emotional… it’s been too much,’ the woman revealed.
The building’s management company, P and 21 LLC, further alleged that if the door wasn’t locked, Yarimi could have hurt her neighbors.
The petition slammed Yarimi’s alleged actions as ‘dangerous’ and ‘detrimental,’ which negatively impacted the ‘well-being of the residents in the building.’
At the time of the alleged altercation, Yarimi was living in the luxury Brooklyn apartment building with her now ex-husband, Shneur Kovitz.
Daily Mail has reached out to Yarimi’s lawyer for comment.
