A New York State bill to “stop super speeders” has gained new momentum following a car crash in Brooklyn on Saturday that killed a Jewish mother and her two daughters, and sent her 4-year-old son to the hospital.
If implemented, the bill would require the installation of speed limiters — which cap how fast a car can drive — for drivers who accumulate more than 11 points on their license over a 23-month period, or those who receive more than six speed camera or red light camera tickets per year.
First proposed in 2023, the bill has been stalled in Albany for two years due to lack of support, despite recent data that New Yorkers are more likely to die in a car crash than by gun violence. Anger and grief over Saturday’s crash, however — which was instigated by a driver with a suspended license — has reignited interest in the bill.
“When you look at the data of who are the most dangerous drivers on our streets, you realize that they are recidivist, reckless drivers, and there is no mechanism in state or local law in New York to effectively either force them to drive safer, or to prevent them from getting behind the wheel of a car in the first place,” State Sen. Andrew Gounardes, a co-sponsor of the bill, told the New York Jewish Week Tuesday.
“The ‘Stop Super Speeders’ bill would allow us to take a vehicle which is being driven in a very dangerous manner — almost like a weapon — and allow it to be operated in a much more safe way, so that we can keep people safe on our streets,” he added.
Natasha Saada, 34, and her children Diana, 8, Deborah, 5, and Philip, 4, were leaving a Midwood synagogue around 1 p.m. when the driver of an Audi crashed into the rear bumper of a Toyota Camry, designated as an Uber.
“The impact caused the Camry to be pushed aside while the Audi continued forward and struck four pedestrians in the crosswalk, a mother and her three young children, before overturning,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Saturday at a press conference.
Following the crash, the Saada family was rushed to Maimonides Hospital in Borough Park, where Natasha, Diana and Deborah were pronounced dead. Philip Saada remains in the hospital. The 62-year-old Uber driver and his four passengers, a mother and her three children, were taken to Kings County Hospital in East Flatbush, where they were treated for minor injuries.
On Sunday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams visited the scene of the crash, and visited the home of Sidney Saada, husband of Natasha and father of Diana, Deborah and Philip.
“There’s not much we can say but we’re here for you,” Adams told Sidney Saada. “I’ve received so many calls from parents, who just wanted me to tell you how much we’re all hurting,” he added. “I just had to be here and let you know as one dad to another dad that I’m sorry. I’m sorry. You have my condolences. You’re in my prayers.”
The three were buried in Israel
Natasha, Diana and Deborah were buried in Israel on Monday, following a funeral in Borough Park on Sunday.
The Audi driver was identified as Miriam “Ellie” Yarimi, 32, a Jewish wig-maker and influencer who had 99 traffic violations, thousands of dollars in unpaid fines and a suspended license, according to law enforcement and media reports.
Yarimi has been charged with second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, assault, reckless driving, speeding, failure to yield and driving with a suspended license.
“I will call it like it is,” Tisch said Saturday. “This was a horrific tragedy caused by someone who shouldn’t have been on the road. A mother and two young children killed, another child fighting for his life, a family and neighborhood devastated in an instant.”
News reports and photos from the scene indicated that Yarimi’s car, which was decked with a vanity plate reading “WIGM8KER,” had flipped over.
On social media — where Yarimi interacted with customers, showed off her wigs, and documented life with her daughter — she had previously shown excitement over her vehicle, and her custom license plate.
Some followers and neighbors had concerns over a recent post where Yarimi claimed there was a hidden camera installed in her bathroom, as well as other posts referring to conspiracy theories. In April 2024, Yarimi and a named “co-tenant,” Shneur Kovitz, were sued for eviction by their landlord for “erratic” and “dangerous” behavior.
Yarimi was taken to Bellevue Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation after the crash. Yarimi’s civil attorney for an unrelated matter, Andrew Laufer, told the New York Jewish Week that she has been transferred to another hospital in Brooklyn where she remains in custody, and that an arraignment had not taken place as of Tuesday afternoon.
On Monday, Gounardes and other local lawmakers, including city Comptroller Brad Lander — who is Jewish and running for mayor — and Brooklyn Assemblymember Emily Gallagher, the original co-sponsor of the Stop Super Speeders bill, held a press conference on the steps of Borough Hall in Downtown Brooklyn to call for swift passage of the bill.
“I’m very hopeful,” Gounardes told the New York Jewish Week about whether the bill will truly pick up steam this time. “I can say that in the three and a half days since this tragedy, I have gotten a lot of interest from my colleagues.”
“We’ve secured more co-sponsorships in the last couple of days,” Gounardes said, adding that new co-sponsors include Assembly member Linda Rosenthal, who represents the Upper West Side and parts of Hell’s Kitchen. “And so I hope that out of this tragedy, something good can emerge, and that is: passing a law that no one has to experience this ever again.”
Not all local lawmakers are on board with the proposed legislation. At Sunday’s funeral, Republican Assembly member Michael Novakhov, who is Jewish and represents Midwood, told Streetsblog, “What I don’t like about the bill is it says six red-light or speed violations in one year” triggers the installation of the speed-limiting device, he said. “I think this is too little.”
A law similar to the proposed bill in New York was passed in Virginia and will take effect in July 2026, allowing judges to require super speeders to install speed limiters. Another similar law in Washington, D.C. took effect in 2024.
A state statute known as Sammy’s Law was implemented in the 2023-2024 legislative session, allowing New York City to lower the urban speed limit to 20 miles per hour. The law is named for Samuel Cohen-Eckstein, who, in 2013 at 12 years old, was killed by a van in Park Slope just one month before his bar mitzvah.
