Fatal accident on Long Island: Drunk driver kills 4 and injures 9 others in accident at nail salon in Deer Park

DEER PARK (WABC) — Four people were killed and nine others injured in a terrible accident on Long Island.

The tragic accident occurred in Deer Park when a car sped through Hawaii Nail & Spa on Friday shortly after 4:30 p.m.

Police arrested 64-year-old Steven Schwally for drunk driving.

They say Schwally drove a 2020 Chevy Traverse at a high rate of speed through a parking lot on Commack Road.

Then he crossed Grand Boulevard and drove through the front entrance of the nail salon.

“Someone saw the man driving. He came out of this Kohl’s parking lot and tried to pass somebody. Then they ran right into the nail salon and you could hear people screaming and yelling,” said witness Danielle Tanis.

Four people died at the scene of the accident. Several others are still in hospital.

“It’s awful. It’s going to be tough on the community… tough on the volunteer fire department, but we’re going to get through it. It’s just awful to see, especially this time of year when there are so many good things happening, graduations and so on,” said Dominic Albanese, deputy chief of the Deer Park Fire Department.

Shortly after the accident, Albanese said people were trapped in the salon.

Schwally was also taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

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