Man allegedly drank 18 beers night before deadly Deer Park salon crash: prosecutors
DEER PARK, N.Y. (PIX11) – The suspect in Friday’s deadly crash at a Long Island nail salon allegedly drank 18 beers the night before the crash that killed four people and injured nine others, prosecutors said.
Steven Schwally, 64, of Dix Hills, was allegedly speeding when he crashed an SUV into the Hawaii Nail & Spa on Grand Boulevard in Deer Park, according to the Suffolk County Police Department.
The crash killed four people, including off-duty NYPD Officer Emilia Rennhack, police said.
Prosecutors said Schwally allegedly drank 18 beers the night before the deadly crash.
Schwally allegedly had bloodshot and glassy eyes and his speech was slurred when the police questioned him after the crash, according to court documents.
‘Hearts are breaking’: Funeral set for NYPD cop killed by alleged drunk driver
Schwally was charged with driving while intoxicated. He pleaded not guilty in court on Monday.
Schwally was also arrested and charged with DWI in 2014.
The nail salon was open at the time of the crash, police said. The manager of the nail salon was among the four people killed, according to a GoFundMe page. His wife was also critically injured, the GoFundMe page said.
Rennhack, 30, of Deer Park, Jiancai Chen, 37, of Queens, Yan Xu, 41, of Queens, and Meizi Zhang, 50, of Queens, were identified by police as the victims who died in the crash.
Friends, family and community members were expected to attend a vigil outside the salon on Monday at 7 p.m.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11.
