Driver facing multiple charges in Brooklyn crash that killed mother, 2 kids

A woman is facing multiple charges after she crashed into a family out for a walk in Brooklyn, killing a mother and her two children in what New York City Mayor Eric Adams described as a tragic accident of a Shakespearean proportion.

Miriam Yarimi was charged hours after the Saturday afternoon crash with three counts each of criminal negligent homicide, manslaughter and assault in the second degree as well as several other charges.

Police said Yarimi was driving on a suspended license and additional charges indicated she was speeding and failed to yield after stopping at a red light when she collided with another vehicle and then into the family walking in the crosswalk.

I will call it like it is. This was a horrific tragedy caused by someone who shouldn't have been on the road, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters at crash scene. A mother and two young children killed. Another child fighting for his life. A family and a neighbourhood devastated.

A phone number for Yarimi could not be found. Calls to the Kings County courts were not answered and there was no information in the court system about who might be representing her.

Tisch said Yarimi's Audi rear-ended a Toyota around 1 pm. Both drivers had minor injuries, as did another adult and three children in the Toyota. Yarimi had to be extracted from the wreck from her vehicle after it flipped over.

The collision sent the Audi into the pedestrians, who were in the crosswalk before the vehicle overturned, authorities said. The 35-year-old woman and her 6- and 8-year-old daughters were pronounced dead at the scene, and the 4-year-old boy was hospitalised in critical condition.

This is extremely concerning and painful, not only to the City of New York in general, but specifically to a very close knit community, Adams said. A mother gone for a simple stroll on a sunny day was struck and killed. As we pray for their families and this entire community, the city mourns this loss.