“Over the past few months, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office has handed out plea deals that defy all logic and undermine the very meaning of justice. This latest deal for Miriam Yarimi, who killed a mother and her two young daughters, is outrageous. Since this tragedy occurred, I’ve heard from heartbroken neighbors and supporters, and the message is the same: this cannot happen again. The District Attorney made a weak and baffling decision, knowing full well that this judge would consider a more lenient sentence. Sidney Saada, who lost his entire world deserves justice, not to have justice turn her back on him.

That having been said, I appreciate the amendments my colleagues made to the “Stop Super Speeders Act”, and I believe this legislation is an important step toward addressing the failures that allowed this tragedy to happen. We cannot allow recidivist, reckless individuals to remain on our roads endangering our families. And we must also do more to prevent tragedies like this in the first place, including establishing proper traffic checkpoints. If Yarimi had been stopped earlier, if checkpoints had caught her suspended license and pattern of dangerous driving, the tragedy could have been avoided.

Brooklyn families deserve safety, accountability, and real justice. This woman deserves the most severe punishment the law allows, and our community will not tolerate a system that protects criminals instead of victims.”