The man accused of driving his SUV into a Long Island nail salon Friday afternoon reportedly told police he drank 18 beers the night prior. ABC7 reports Steven Schwally pleaded not guilty to a DWI charge at a Monday arraignment, during which prosecutors said the 64-year-old had been drinking until 4am Friday. They said his SUV crashed into Hawaii Nail & Spa in Deer Park about 12 hours later. Prosecutors described Schwally as driving his Chevy Traverse at a high rate of speed; NBC New York cites a fire official on the scene who said the vehicle was going so fast it nearly busted through the back of the salon.
Three of the four killed were Hawaii nail employees. Jiancai Chen, 37, was managing the salon that day and working alongside Yan Xu, 41, and Meizi Zhang, 50. Also killed was Emilia Rennhack, 30, who was "getting her nails done for a colleague's wedding that night," per a fundraiser for her family at Fund the First that has raised more than $50,000. Rennhack herself had gotten married less than a year ago to Squad Detective Carl Rennhack, who she "met & fell in love [with] at the 102nd precinct."
A similar amount has been raised on GoFundMe for Chen's two young children and wife, who suffered "critical back and hip injuries" in the crash. Eight others were injured, including a 12-year-old girl. CBS News describes Xu as "a devoted daughter and mother" who sent part of her earnings back to China to support a son with polio and a mother with Alzheimer's. As for Schwally—who prosecutors said had "bloodshot and glassy eyes" and the smell of alcohol on his breath in a post-crash interview—he is being held on a $1 million cash bail. (A witness says the crash was "a sound that I never heard before.")
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