Investigation Continues In Deadly Deer Park Nail Salon Crash

DEER PARK, NY — Court was adjourned on Thursday for Steven Schwally, the Marine vet accused of killing four people and severely injuring nine others in a tragic Deer Park nail salon crash in June, Judge Richard Ambro announced at the Riverhead courthouse.

Schwally's lawyer, Christopher Cassar, told Patch that while there are currently "no filings" for the case's next hearing, officials involved with the case will meet for a "conference on consent" on Oct. 31.

Cassar, who replaced Mathrew Hereth of the Legal Aid Society of Suffolk County as Schwally's lawyer on Oct. 2, said that the "investigative stage" gives him "more time to review" the case.

He also said he's "waiting on hospital records" for a leg injury that Cassar said made him unable to take his leg off the gas on June 28 when he drove at high speed through two parking lots and a major roadway before crashing the SUV through the front window of the nail salon.

Schwally, 64, of Dix Hills has remained in custody since the incident and attended the Oct. 2 hearing wearing a green Suffolk County Correctional Facility uniform and sporting a new buzz cut when Ambro approved Cassar as his new lawyer.

At a hearing in July, prosecutors said that Schwally's "toxicology report came back with a .17 percent BAC"—more than double the legal limit of .08 percent — at the time of the crash. Prior to that, Schwally admitted to drinking 18 beers the night before the crash, according to Newsday.

The crash killed NYPD officer Emilia Rennhack, 30, of Deer Park, Jiancai Chen, 37, of Bayside, Queens, Yan Xu, 41, of Flushing, Queens, and Meizi Zhang, 50, of Flushing, Queens, police said.
In addition, the crash seriously injured Nicole Miele, 54, of Dix Hills, Ana Garcia, 53, of Bay Shore, Wen Jun Cheng, 35, of Bayside, Queens, and Michael Mehale, 58, of Deer Park, Carol Garcia, 23, of Bay Shore, Toni Saccente, 32, of West Islip, Krystal Rodriguez, 37, of Bay Shore, Nicole Saccente, 55, from Cape Coral, Florida, and a 12-year-old girl, police said.

After the crash, Schwally pleaded not guilty to the DWI charge and was held on $1 million cash bail, according to reports.

Then on August 1, Schwally was indicted on 38 charges—including four second-degree murder charges—and "used his 5,000-pound vehicle to kill," prosecutors said in court. Judge Ambro also denied Schwally's Legal Aid attorney's request for bail and suspended his license.

In late August, five victims who survived the tragedy filed lawsuits against Schwally, according to reports from News 12.

Two of the lawsuits filed were against Schwally and Stants Liquors, Inc., the liquor store that allegedly sold him two 42-proof, 375-millimeter bottles of Montebello Iced Tea cocktail before the fateful crash.

If convicted, Schwally is facing 25 years to life in prison, Judge Ambro said.