Inset: Steven Schwally (Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office). Background: News footage of the crash caused by Steven Schwally (WABC).
A New York man who drove his SUV into a nail salon, killing four people inside, will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Steven Schwally, 66, was sentenced to 25 years to life after being found guilty of several felony charges in connection with a fatal car crash that took the lives of four people. Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said in a press release that on the morning of June 28, 2024, Schwally was seen on surveillance cameras buying two bottles of Montebello Long Island Iced Tea Cocktail at a liquor store that was located in the same strip mall as the Hawaii Nail & Spa in Deer Park, New York.
After driving around the area in his Chevrolet Traverse for several hours, he was caught on more surveillance cameras driving “recklessly” before his SUV “careened” across a road “at such a high speed that it caused the vehicle to go airborne.” Schwally then flew into the nail salon’s storefront.
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Tierney wrote in his press release that Schwally “struck several people inside the salon and dragged the four victims before ultimately crashing into the rear wall of the store.” The four people killed were 30-year-old Emilia Rennack, an off-duty NYPD officer who was a customer at the salon; 37-year-old Jian Chai Chen, who was the owner of the salon; and two employees of the salon, 41-year-old Yan Xu and 50-year-old Meizi Zhang.
Nine other people inside the salon were injured, some of them so seriously that they required surgery.
Police said that when Schwally was “extricated” from his SUV, he showed several signs of being intoxicated. Tierney said Schwally had a BAC of 0.17, more than twice the legal limit in New York. Inside his SUV were two empty bottles of Montebello Long Island Iced Tea Cocktail and one full bottle. Another empty bottle was found in the motel where Schwally lived.
Schwally was found guilty by a jury in July of four counts of second-degree murder, three counts of first-degree assault, two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, one count of vehicular assault, three counts of second-degree assault, four counts of second-degree vehicular homicide, and seven misdemeanors.
Local ABC affiliate WABC reported that Schwally was stoic and apologized to the survivors and families of the victims. Schwally also reportedly gave cameras the finger.
The post Man seen buying bottles of Long Island iced tea was drunk when he ‘careened’ into a nail salon, killing 4 people inside first appeared on Law & Crime.
