Four killed including NYPD officer in horror nail salon crash as ‘drunk driver’ to face charges after recovery

THE driver who killed four people by slamming into a New York nail salon with his minivan last week was allegedly drunk driving.

Four people died in the tragic accident , including an off-duty NYPD officer, and another nine were brought to the hospital with serious injuries.

NYCPBA

AP

WABC

Facebook/Hawaii nail spa

The driver of the vehicle, Steven Schwally, 64, was also hospitalized immediately after the crash.

Hawaii Nail & Spa is part of a strip mall in Deer Park on Grand Boulevard and Brandywine Drive, about 40 miles outside of New York City.

Suffolk County Police announced on Sunday that they had evidence showing that Schwally was driving while intoxicated, according to local Fox News affiliate WTTG .

He was only partially conscious when he was brought to the hospital, police said.

They initially reported that it was believed the driver had suffered some kind of “medical event.”

Police said Schwally drove his 2020 Chevy Traverse at high speeds through the parking lot before he burst through the front window of the salon.

The popular neighborhood spot was almost full when the minivan flew into the building just before 5 pm on Friday, witnesses said.

Several people were initially trapped inside, but rescue workers quickly arrived on the scene and were able to free everyone.

The four people who were killed were NYPD officer Emilia Rennhack, 30, Jiancai Chen, 37, Yan Xu, 41, and Meizi Zhang, 50.

In addition to the four deaths, another nine victims were transported to the hospital with injuries ranging from minor to serious but not life-threatening.

Schwally will face charges of driving while intoxicated after he is released from the hospital, police said.

‘A MAJOR ACCIDENT’

All of the victims who were killed died while inside the nail salon, authorities said per local ABC affiliate WABC.

The Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York, representing over 50,000 NYC cops, shared a message on X about the tragedy.

“Our hearts are breaking following the tragic loss of our 102 Pct. sister P.O. Emilia Rennhack in an off-duty incident yesterday,” NYC PBA ( @NYCPBA ) wrote.

“Please join us in praying for her family , friends and coworkers. Funeral arrangements to follow. #RIP.”

CBS News reported that the Deer Park Volunteer Fire Department has called it “a major accident.”

“It’s horrible, it’s going to be tough for the community… tough for the volunteer fire department, but we’re going to get through it,” said Dominic Albanese, Deer Park Fire Department Assistant Chief.

“Just a horrible thing to see especially at this time of the year with all the good things happening, graduations and whatnot,” he added.

A COMMUNITY IN MOURNING

Several members of the community have shared what they saw along with their condolences on social media .

“My mom saw the car and said it was going super fast like a bullet,” one resident shared in the Deer Park community group on Facebook .

“My wife just called from the parking lot. She was about to get her nails done when a car drove through the nail salon. They are carrying people out as we speak,” another person wrote.

Victims of the Hawaii Nail & Spa crash

A mini-van drove through the front window of a New York nail salon on Friday.

Four people were killed, including:

• NYPD officer Emilia Rennhack, 30
• Jiancai Chen, 37
• Yan Xu, 41
• Meizi Zhang, 50

Four others had serious (but not life-threatening) injuries, including:

• Wen Jun Cheng, 35
• Ana Garcia, 53
• Nicole Miele, 54
• Michael Mehale, 58

Five more people were also treated for injuries, including:

• An unidentified 12-year-old girl
• Carol Garcia, 23
• Toni Saccente, 32
• Krystal Rodriguez, 37
• Nicole Saccente, 55

The driver of the minivan, 64-year-old Steven Schwally, was also treated at the hospital for injuries from the accident.

“Somebody saw that the man was driving and he came from this parking lot from Kohl’s and he was trying to pass somebody, and then they pretty much ran right into the nail salon and you could hear people screaming and yelling,” local Danielle Tanis told WABC.

“My heart dropped because life is so fragile. Life is so, so fragile,” Valerie Fisher, another resident who had a manicure and pedicure at the salon on Thursday, told the outlet.

A LUCKY FEW

Virginia Garcia told CBS that her 20-year-old niece was in the salon at the time of the crash and is now in a lot of pain.

“The lady that was sitting next to her died. So she was more nervous because when she saw that the other lady died, she was like, God saved her life, basically… She’s lucky that she’s alive, actually,” Garcia said.

Another customer told reporters about how she always had an appointment at 4:30 pm on Fridays but had switched it this week by chance.

“I don’t even know who’s gone, who’s not gone. I just keep picturing their faces in my head,” Jasmin Darbouze said.