It’s like reaching into an empty tool box.
District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced the indictment of the recidivist speeder who used her car to kill three members of a Brooklyn family last month, but also complained that New York's political elite in Albany and City Hall have failed to act to rein in “unconscionably dangerous” drivers — and, until they do, those killers will continue threatening the lives of everyone in this city.
The killer driver, Miriam Yarimi, appeared in court for the first time on Wednesday, pleading not guilty to charges that include manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and assault.
“It wasn’t an accident,” Gonzalez told reporters outside the hearing room. “This defendant’s unconscionably dangerous driving wiped out a family. The consequences of her flouting traffic laws and commonsense were disastrous.”
Gonzalez then complained that despite Yarimi's disgraceful record of 21 camera-issued speeding tickets and five red-light tickets, the DA still has limited tools to hold such drivers accountable, even though the evidence of their past crimes is a matter of public record, caught on cameras all over town.
“This car had many many violations, speeding tickets, running red light tickets. What’s very clear is that she should not have been on the road that day, “ said Gonzalez. “The law is very restrictive in allowing district attorney’s to pursue murder charges in these types of cases. This is an area where I think the legislature should take a careful look to see whether … what it would take to do a ‘depraved indifference’ charge of a vehicular case. The high courts have struck down a lot of these cases.”
He added that it is the job of his office to prosecute cases and investigate crimes and it falls to the NYPD and sheriff to get these cars off the road before a crash occurs. But there are issues with the way the state and city categorize automated enforcement tickets, and lax consequences associated with them. Such tickets, for example, do not count against a driver's record, nor are insurance companies even informed when their policyholders are a danger to all.
“At what point can [the NYPD] feel that they can seize a car simply based on the number of tickets, not just the number of fines?” Gonzalez told reporters. “A driver whose reckless and continues to speed who continues to run red lights, they can pay off those camera tickets, there’s no points on their licenses and technically their cars are not in scoff. The police department feels like they have a hard time legally seizing those cars because no tickets are owed.”
Yarimi’s request for bail was denied and she is due back in court on June 11. She is facing five to 15 years in prison.
The deadly crash has sparked an outcry from advocates and members of the public who want to see legislators get dangerous drivers off the road before they kill people, especially since their behavior is known and their locations tracked.
State Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D-Bay Ridge) has a bill that would “stop super speeders” in their tracks. The bill, S7621, proposes using “speed limiter” technology to modify the cars of drivers who get six or more automated enforcement tickets in a 12-month period. The devices would allow them to keep driving, but render it impossible for them to speed.
Gonzalez championed the bill as a way of arresting “violent car culture.”
“In the last five years I feel like the number of bad drivers has continued to increase. There are a lot of solutions. We’re talking about solutions inside the vehicle that prevent those cars from operating in reckless ways,” Gonzalez told Streetsblog.
The indictment brought to light more details about the crash — including Yarimi's extreme recklessness. The district attorney's office said video showed Yarimi drive through a red light on Ocean Parkway a block south of the crash, narrowly avoid other cars on her way to Quentin Road, and then run another red light and crash into a taxi and the Saada family.
The mother and two daughters, 5-year-old Deborah and 8-year-old Diana, were killed at the scene and 4-year-old Philip suffered skull fractures, brain bleeding and kidney removal. He remains in critical condition.
