New Lawyer For Man Charged In Deadly LI Nail Salon Crash: DA

DEER PARK, NY — Court was adjourned on Wednesday 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.

His new court appearance will take place on October 17, Ambro confirmed.

Ambro also approved Schwally's new legal representation, Christopher Cassar. Schwally was previously represented by Mathrew Hereth of the Legal Aid Society of Suffolk County.

Schwally, who attended the hearing in a wheelchair wearing a solid-green Suffolk County Correctional Facility uniform, will not attend the October 17 hearing.

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.

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.

At the hearing, 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.

Cassar was not immediately available for comment.