New Deadly LI Nail Salon Crash Survivors Sue Drunk Driver: Reports

DEER PARK, NY — Three more victims who survived the Deer Park Nail salon tragedy are suing the man authorities said was driving drunk when he plowed through Hawaii Nail & Spa in June, according to a recent report by News 12.

The outlet reported that Nicole and Toni Saccente and her underage daughter filed the suit against Steven Schwally, the Marine vet accused of driving an SUV through the nail salon, killing four people and hospitalizing nine others.

Lawsuit court documents say Schwally showed "conscious and deliberate disregard” during the incident, Newsday reported.

The report follows two other lawsuits filed by other crash victims 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.

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.

On June 28, Schwally, 64, of Dix Hills drove at high speed through the parking lot in front of 421 Commack Road, crossed over Grand Boulevard and continued through the parking lot of 794 Grand Boulevard, where he crashed the vehicle through the front window of the nail salon, Suffolk County police said.

Schwally, a Marine veteran, was reportedly still drunk at the time of the crash and living at the Motor Inn in Commack, according to ABC.

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.

At the hearing, Judge Richard Ambro also denied Schwally's Legal Aid attorney's request for bail and suspended his license.

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

Schwally is due back in court on August 28.