A mother was killed in Brooklyn along with her two daughters after a driver with a suspended license slammed into an Uber before careening into the family while they were walking home from synagogue. The woman’s son, 4, was also hit and was fighting for his life in critical condition, authorities said, according to the New York Post. A total of nine people were injured in the incident.
The incident took place on Ocean Parkway close to Quentin Road in heavily Orthodox Jewish Gravesend. An Uber driver in a Toyota Camry and an Audi reportedly collided.
“The bang I heard, it was like an earthquake,” a witness told the outlet. “It went on for a good 30 seconds. It felt like the world stopped for that second.”
The Audi was being driven by Miriam Yarimi. It continued forward and then careened into a crosswalk, killing the 35-year-old woman and her daughters, 8 and 6, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a press conference at the scene. “This was a horrific tragedy caused by someone who shouldn’t have been on the road,” Tisch added.
Yarimi, 32, and the 62-year-old Camry operator were taken to Coney Island hospital in stable condition. They were expected to get tested for drunken driving. Yarimi has not been charged in connection with the incident.
The three passengers in the Uber – two children and an adult — were rushed to Kings County Hospital in stable condition.
‘He lost two out of four children, yes, in one day’
{{/usCountry}}The three passengers in the Uber – two children and an adult — were rushed to Kings County Hospital in stable condition.
‘He lost two out of four children, yes, in one day’
{{/usCountry}}When the crash took place, the now-deceased woman’s husband was home with their infant. “My neighbor had to go to the husband and tell him that his wife and two children passed away,” a resident said. “He lost two out of four children, yes, in one day. Plus his wife.”
According to the witness, the neighbourhood was filled with worshippers after Sabbath services on Saturday, March 29, “like Manhattan on Christmas,” before the tragedy struck. “It is a shock,” he said. “I think everyone that was witnessing this, I mean, at like 1 o’clock in the afternoon, everyone’s coming home from synagogue. The streets are full with pedestrians.”
Mayor Eric Adams referred to the incident as a tragedy of “Shakespearean proportions.” “A mother going for a simple stroll on a sunny day was struck and killed,” he said at an unrelated event. “I cannot imagine the pain of the family.”