New Lawsuit For Accused Murderer In Deadly Nail Salon Crash: Reports

DEER PARK, NY — Another lawsuit has been filed against 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, according to a report by News12.

The outlet said the lawsuit was filed in Suffolk County Supreme Court on Wednesday by nail salon owner Wenjun Cheng, whose husband, Jiancai Chen, was killed in the crash when Schwally drove an SUV at high speed through several two parking lots, across Grand Boulevard and through the front window of the nail salon, Suffolk County police said.

According to Newday, the lawsuit also names Yong Fang LLC, which owns the strip mall where the salon was located, and Stants Liquors Inc., the store that allegedly sold him two 42-proof, 375-millimeter bottles of Montebello Iced Tea cocktail before the fateful crash.

Cheng's lawsuit follows others filed last summer by five other victims who survived the tragedy, News 12 reported in August.

The crash killed NYPD officer Emilia Rennhack, 30, of Deer Park, 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.

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.

On Aug. 1, Schwally was indicted on 38 charges—including four second-degree murder charges—after he "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.

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

In January, Christopher Cassar, Schwally's attorney, told Patch he "gave the DA medical records" for a leg injury that made Schwally unable to take his leg off the gas 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 in June.

Cassar said he had been waiting for the records since he replaced Mathew Hereth of the Legal Aid Society of Suffolk County as Schwally's lawyer on Oct. 2.

In addition, Cassar said he "received a written request from the prosecution for a DNA sample" from Schwally, something he said is usually reserved for cases where the identification of the person who committed a crime is in question.

Schwally is due back in court March 11, according to court records.

Cassar was not immediately available for comment.