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Deer Park nail salon crash: 4 killed including NYPD officer by speeding drunk driver; victims ID'd

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Updated  June 29, 2024 5:48pm EDT
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 5 NY

4 dead, 9 injured after LI nail salon car crash

Four people were killed and nine were hospitalized after a car crashed into a nail salon in Deer Park, Long Island, officials said.

LONG ISLAND - Suffolk County police say the man who crashed his vehicle into a nail salon in Deer Park and killed four people was driving while intoxicated. 

NYPD officer Emilia Rennhack, 30, Jiancai Chen, 37, Yan Xu, 41, and Meizi Zhang, 50, have been identified as the four people who were killed in the crash Friday afternoon.

The driver of the vehicle, Steven Schwally, 64, remains hospitalized. He will be arraigned on a later date.

Four people were killed, including an NYPD officer, police confirmed to FOX 5.

4 dead after car crashes into LI nail salon

Authorities say four people have died and nine were injured after a minivan crashed into a nail salon on Long Island on Friday afternoon.

Officer Emilia Rennhack was killed in the crash, PBA confirmed.

"Our hearts are breaking following the tragic loss," New York City Police posted on X. 

The victims' identities haven't been released.

Police say Steve Schwally, was driving a 2020 Chevy Traverse at high speed through the parking lot before crashing into the front window of the Hawaii Nail & Spa inside a strip mall on Grand Boulevard near Brandywine Drive Friday afternoon.

At the time, several people were trapped, and at least one person had to be airlifted to the hospital.


The driver was partially conscious when first responders arrived on the scene, according to police. 

He is currently being treated at a nearby hospital and is facing DWI charges.

Nine others were hospitalized after the incident unfolded.

Nicole Miele, 54, Ana Garcia, 53, Wen Jun Cheng, 35, and Michael Mehale, 58, are all being treated at area hospitals for serious but not life-threatening injuries. 

Carol Garcia, 23, Toni Saccente, 32, Krystal Rodriguez, 37,  Nicole Saccente, 55, and a 12-year-old girl whose identity is being withheld, were also treated.