Devastating accident in Brooklyn claims the lives of a Jewish mother and her two children as they were crossing the street while making their way home from synagogue.
A devastating accident in Brooklyn on Saturday claimed the lives of a Jewish mother and her two children as they were crossing the street, while a third child remains in critical condition.
The family was returning home from synagogue when the tragic collision occurred.
“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 stated, as quoted by ABC7. “A mother and two young children killed. Another child fighting for his life. A family and a neighborhood devastated.”
The fatal crash took place on Ocean Parkway near Quentin Road in Midwood shortly after 1:00 p.m., according to ABC7. A total of ten people, including six children, were transported to hospitals following the accident.
Tisch stated that the crash began when an Audi struck the rear of a Toyota Camry. The driver of the Camry, a 63-year-old man, sustained minor injuries, as did a 35-year-old woman and three children in the vehicle—a four-year-old girl, a five-year-old boy, and a 12-year-old boy.
The force of the impact sent the Audi into the pedestrians as they crossed the street, before the vehicle overturned.
Authorities confirmed that the 35-year-old mother and her two daughters, aged six and eight, were pronounced dead at the scene. Her four-year-old son was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. The driver of the Audi, 32-year-old Mariam Yarimi, was operating the vehicle with a suspended license. Witnesses reported that her car went airborne before rolling over. Emergency responders had to extricate her from the wreckage, and she was taken to the hospital in stable condition.
Investigators are examining whether Yarimi ran a red light and whether speed played a role in the crash. Authorities also conducted a preliminary breath test for possible intoxication.
