Alleged drunk driver who crashed into LI nail salon and killed 4 is indicted on murder charges: report

Alleged drunk driver who crashed into LI nail salon and killed 4 is indicted on murder charges: report

The alleged drunk driver accused of crashing into a Long Island nail salon and killing four people, including a young NYPD officer, last month has been indicted on murder charges, according to a report.

Steven Schwally, 64 – who prosecutors previously said downed 18 beers before the tragedy – will be arraigned Thursday in Riverhead on a grand jury indictment that includes four counts of second-degree murder, sources told Newsday on Monday.

Defendant Steven Schwally in a white shirt appearing for arraignment in court after being arrested for driving intoxicated and crashing his SUV into a nail salon. AP
Emergency services responding to a vehicle crash into the Hawaii Nail & Spa building, Long Island, June 28, 2024; attributed to a DUI incident. Paul Mazza

Schwally is accused of crashing his Chevrolet Traverse into Hawaii Nail & Spa in Deer Park on June 28 while drunk and killing four people, including an off-duty NYPD cop.

Additional charges were not disclosed and the indictment remains under seal, according to Newsday.

Rennhack – a newlywed herself – was getting her nails done for a fellow cop’s wedding later in the day when the boozed-up motorist plowed through the local salon, killing her and three others: Jiancai Chen, 37, Yan Xu, 41 and Meizi Zhang, 50, authorities have said. 

Portrait of New York City Police Officer Emilia Rennhack in uniform. AP

Rennhack joined the force in 2018 and married fellow cop Carl Rennhack in September.

The grieving husband made his first public comments at his wife’s funeral, attended by hundreds of fellow officers. 

“Emilia held a lot of titles – wife, daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, godmother, friend, police officer,” Carl Rennhack said, as he appeared to hold back tears.

“She was always so happy,” he said. “Her laugh and smile were contagious.”

Surveillance video capture showing aftermath of the minivan crash into Hawaii Nail & Spa storefront, Deer Park, New York. hawaii_nail_spa/Instagram

In a court appearance early this month, Schwally was ordered held on $1 million bail on drunken driving charges in the deadly crash.

“The defendant’s vehicle went through the intersection, went airborne, struck the curb in front of the Hawaii Nail & Spa, navigated through one empty parking spot and slammed through the Hawaiian Nail & Spa’s front window,” Suffolk County prosecutor Alexander Bopp said in court at the time.

“The defendant admitted to Suffolk County police detectives that he had consumed 18 beers the night before and indicated that he stopped drinking around 3 or 4 a.m.,” Bopp said.

Schwally, who is unemployed and living in transient hotels, is a veteran of the US Marine Corps and retired from a job at UPS, his lawyer said during that appearance.

Schwally was busted for an earlier drunken driving incident in 2013, when he slammed into a mailbox in Dix Hills, drove off and was nabbed asleep behind the wheel, records reviewed by The Post revealed.

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