Monday’s Headlines: Brooklyn Crash ‘Horror’ Edition

New York City was rocked this weekend by the vehicular killing of Natasha Saada and two of her children at the hands of a driver speeding down Ocean Parkway with a suspended license and 20 speed camera tickets since the start of 2024.

The driver, Miriam Yarimi, has a long record of dangerous driving and an exhausting social media presence to document her wig-making business, her lavish lifestyle, her obsession with cars, her life as a mom and her many legal issues.

The New York Post, which has been all over the story, dubbed Yarimi a "glam wigmaker" and reported, via anonymous "sources," that the alleged felon told cops after the crash she was "possessed" and "had the Devil in me." The Post's sources also claiming Yarimi "had been recently ranting" about being pursued by the CIA. The Post's subtle implication? "Well, there's no reason to make roadways safer or rein in reckless drivers because the fatal crash was caused by a crazy person."

But Yarimi wasn't possessed by the Devil, she was simply another reckless driver who was not gotten off the road by our political elite; indeed at a press conference on Saturday, Mayor Adams called the crash an "accident," so did the New York Times, despite the clear fact that it is anything but an "accident" when people of free will engage in activities from which they should be barred. That's not an "accident," it's a result.

(In this case, at least, Yarimi will likely not be in a position to achieve that result again for many years; cops charged her on Sunday with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, among other charges that could keep her behind bars for years.)

Saturday's tragedy, which also sent a third child to the hospital, followed a near-miss nearby covered by Streetsblog in October. Ocean Parkway has a deadly history — so while this new tragedy has led to calls across the political spectrum for more accountability for recidivist reckless drivers, it should also call attention to the need for serious design changes to slow traffic down.

Stick with Streetsblog for more, including Sophia Lebowitz's report from the funeral, where an elected official had the gall to defend speeding and to double down on his opposition to enforcement cameras, which lead to fewer traffic injuries.

Also, our editor Gersh Kuntzman will be on NY1 at 7:30 a.m. on Monday to talk about the crash and the complete lack of urgency out of the Borough Park political elite.

In other news:

• Randy Mastro is officially first deputy mayor, officially no longer New Jersey's attorney in its lawsuit against congestion pricing and, somehow, still working for James Dolan and MSG. (Daily News)
• Crain's: "Subways are safer, but changing perceptions may take more time." (Reminder: We said that last week.)
• The Post blatantly ripped off our coverage of the massive backlog of outdoor liquor licenses ahead of outdoor dining's April 1 return — and a glut of restaurants flouting the rules and serving al fresco booze anyway.
• More tragedy: A van driver reportedly have a "medical episode" struck and killed a man on Atlantic Avenue in Queens on Friday. (Daily News)
• Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer called the idea of a "reverse congestion pricing" on New York drivers entering New Jersey "outrageous." (CBS New York)
• State Sen. John Liu of Queens backed Steve Cohen's Citi Field casino in exchange for a "High Line-inspired pedestrian and bicycle bridge." (Gothamist)
• Credit where due: SNL hilariously imagined what went through the minds of the imperialists who designed New York City after stealing it from the natives:

• And finally, this dispatch from the 34th Avenue Open Street is why we do what we do: