NEW YORK (AP) — A woman is facing multiple charges after she crashed into a family out for a walk in Brooklyn, killing a mother and her two children in what New York City Mayor Eric Adams described as a “tragic accident of a Shakespearean proportion.”
Miriam Yarimi was charged hours after the Saturday afternoon crash with three counts each of criminal negligent homicide, manslaughter and assault in the second degree as well as several other charges.
Police said Yarimi was driving on a suspended license and additional charges indicated she was speeding and failed to yield after stopping at a red light when she collided with another vehicle and then into the family walking in the crosswalk.
“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 told reporters at crash scene. “A mother and two young children killed. Another child fighting for his life. A family and a neighborhood devastated.”
A phone number for Yarimi could not be found. Calls to the Kings County courts were not answered and there was no information in the court system about who might be representing her.
Tisch said Yarimi's Audi rear-ended a Toyota around 1 p.m. Both drivers had minor injuries, as did another adult and three children in the Toyota. Yarimi had to be extracted from the wreck from her vehicle after it flipped over.
The collision sent the Audi into the pedestrians, who were in the crosswalk before the vehicle overturned, authorities said. The 35-year-old woman and her 6- and 8-year-old daughters were pronounced dead at the scene, and the 4-year-old boy was hospitalized in critical condition.
“This is extremely concerning and painful, not only to the City of New York in general, but specifically to a very close knit community,” Adams said. “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.”
This image provided by the Office of the New York Mayor shows the scene, Saturday, March 29, 2025, in the Brooklyn borough of New York, where a woman driving on a suspended license was speeding and failed to yield after stopping at a red light, collided with another vehicle and then into a family walking in the crosswalk. (Mayoral Photography Office/Justin Persaud via AP)
PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — The United Kingdom’s foreign secretary on Wednesday gave assurances of Britain's interest in the Western Balkan region while visiting Kosovo, urging both Kosovo and Serbia to make progress in normalization talks.
David Lammy was on the second day of a visit to Kosovo where he met with senior officials, calling on Pristina to form a new Cabinet quickly following the country's Feb. 9 parliamentary election.
Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s Self-Determination Movement Party, or Vetevendosje!, won 48 seats in the 120-seat parliament, falling short of a majority.
Lammy assured Kosovar officials that “the U.K. continues to play its essential role as a key friend and partner of this great nation.”
The secretary expressed support for the EU-facilitated Kosovo-Serbia normalization talks. Both countries aspire to join the bloc.
“This is a region that matters to Britain,” he said at a briefing after meeting with Kosovo's President Vjosa Osmani. “We want a lasting, peaceful normalization."
Kosovo-Serbia ties remain tense and the 14-year-long normalization talks have failed to make progress.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a move Belgrade and its key allies Russia and China refuse to recognize.
Later in Serbia, Lammy discussed efforts at Kosovo-Serbia normalization with President Aleksandar Vucic, who has faced months of anti-corruption protests triggered by a deadly train station canopy crash that killed 16 people.
Serbia plays a “fundamental role” in delivering stability in the Balkans, Lammy said at a joint news conference with Vucic.
Lammy also hailed an agreement with Serbia to combat people smuggling in the Balkans, addressing the surge of migrants reaching the U.K. in small boats across the English Channel.
Vucic said that Serbia and the U.K. have different views regarding Kosovo's independence but agree that “dialogue is of key importance and that problems should be solved through talks to find compromise solutions.”
The EU and the United States have urged Kosovo and Serbia to implement agreements reached two years ago that include a commitment by Kosovo to establish an Association of Serb-Majority Municipalities and Serbia’s obligation to provide de facto recognition of Kosovo.
“I hope that the next government will address all citizens' needs, including by making progress to integrate Kosovo Serbs and engage vigorously in the EU-led dialogue,” said Lammy.
Around 11,400 people died in the 1998-1999 war in Kosovo, mostly from Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority. A 78-day NATO air campaign ended the fighting and pushed Serbian forces out.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, left, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic arrive for a press conference, in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy listens to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic during a press conference in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, left, listens Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic during a press conference in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, left, shakes hands with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic after a press conference, in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy speaks during a press conference after talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy arrives to speak during a G5+ Foreign Ministers meeting in Madrid, Spain, Monday March 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul White)
