Who is Miriam Yarimi? Charges against Brooklyn wig maker -influencer explored in wake of crash tragedy
On the afternoon of March 29, 2025, Miriam Yarimi ran over Natasha Saada and her three children in the crosswalk at the intersection of Ocean Parkway and Quentin Road in Midwood, Brooklyn, with her Audi. The family was out for a walk.
Saada, 35, and her two daughters, Deborah, 5, and Diana, 8, died soon after at the hospital, while her 4-year-old son Philip remained critical at the Maimonides Medical Center as of Monday, Yahoo! reported.
In the wake of the tragedy, Mirian Yarimi, who's a 32-year-old wigmaker and social media influencer from Brooklyn, is facing three counts each of multiple felony charges, including manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, assault in the second degree, reckless driving, aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, failure to yield to a red light and speeding.
Her arraignment is pending at Brooklyn Criminal Court while she undergoes psychiatric evaluation at Bellevue Hospital's prison ward. She was originally declared physically stable by the NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn in the aftermath of the accident.
Dashcam footage released by the authorities on Sunday revealed Miriam Yarimi struck the family with her Audi as they were attempting to cross the road. Many others were injured in the crash that also hit a 2023 Toyota Camry with TLC plates, which was seemingly an Uber.
More about Miriam Yarimi in the wake of the fatal accident
Miriam Yarimi is a celebrity wigmaker and content creator in her early 30s who also goes by the name Ellie. She is estranged from her husband and has a child.
Apart from an Audi, she also owns a yellow Porsche that regularly appears on her Instagram and TikTok (@iitsanelliewigs) alongside other aspects of her luxury lifestyle, such as frequent vacations abroad, traveling on cruises and fancy night-outs in NYC. She had thousands of followers on both platforms before they were taken down over the weekend.
According to online records obtained by The Post, Miriam has over 93 traffic violations, including 20 speeding tickets and over $10,000 in fines. One of them is from earlier this month, when Yarimi allegedly sped through a school zone in Brooklyn on March 16. She also has 20 speed-camera tickets and five red-light violations since August 2023.
Miriam Yarimi's blue Audi has a custom-made license plate, "WIGM8KER," alluding to her profession.
In January this year, Miriam Yarimi filed a claim notice stating she intends to sue the city of New York and Coney Island Hospital for $5 million based on an October 2024 incident when she was reportedly dragged out of her bed and taken to the psychiatric ward by NYPD officers.
She is accusing the parties of false imprisonment, medical malpractice, negligence, and deprivation of civil rights for being involuntarily committed for two weeks.
Last year in December, Miriam Yarimi won a $2 million lawsuit settlement from the city after accusing NYPD officer George Mastrokostas of multiple instances of r*pe over several years and falsely arresting her when she was a teenager. She filed the civil suit at Kings County Court in June 2023
At the time, she took to her now-deleted Instagram account and wrote in a post:
"After years of fighting, I have won my lawsuit against the NYPD for the abuse I endured as a child. This victory is not just for me - it's for every survivor who has felt silenced or forgotten."
Miriam added:
"The trauma I experienced shaped so much of who I am today, but it has also given me the strength to keep going, to keep speaking out, and to keep fighting for justice."
Exploring Miriam Yarimi’s recent legal trouble
On Saturday afternoon, when first responders reached Miriam Yarimi's overturned Audi, she reportedly rambled that she was "possessed" and had the "devil in me," authorities told the New York Post on Sunday. Besides, she also seemingly told the Hatzolah Jewish ambulance service members that the CIA was pursuing her.
However, after she was taken into custody, Yarimi declined to answer the police's questions and only asked for a lawyer. Officials believe, after a preliminary investigation, that Miriam, who was wearing a seatbelt, was going twice the speed limit, aka 50 mph in a 25-mph zone when she fatally hit the mother and her kids.
A warrant is awaited to seize the data box from her vehicle to determine the exact speed she was driving in and whether she tried to use brakes before ramming into a motorist followed by the Saada family. No use of drugs or alcohol is suspected at this time. According to reports, her driver's license was suspended at the time of the accident because her insurance had lapsed.
Meanwhile, funeral arrangements for Natasha Saada and her two children, Diana and Deborah, were held on Sunday afternoon. Natasha's father will be flying to Israel with their corpses for burial, while her husband will stay back in New York City to look after their son, who remains serious, alongside another baby, while sitting shiva. The family is currently observing a traditional Jewish mourning period, as reported by The Post.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has called the incident a "tragic accident of Shakespearean proportion" during a news conference over the weekend.
"This is extremely concerning and painful, not only to the City of New York in general but specifically to a very close-knit community. 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," Adams added.
Meanwhile, NYC Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters at the crash scene it was a "horrific tragedy caused by someone who shouldn't have been on the road," that has left the community "devastated."