Long Island man charged in nail salon accident that killed four people

A Long Island man was charged with drunken driving after driving an SUV through a nail salon Friday afternoon, leaving four people dead and nine injured, according to Suffolk County police.

The driver, Steven Schwally, 64, crashed through the front window of Hawaii Nail and Spa in Deer Park, a hamlet in the town of Babylon, N.Y., about 4:30 p.m. Friday, police said. Three women and a man were pronounced dead by emergency responders at the scene.

Mr. Schwally, a resident of Dix Hills, NY, sustained injuries that were not life-threatening and was transported to a hospital in West Islip, NY.

One of the other injured people was taken by helicopter to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment in the trauma center, said Mark Stone, a spokesman for the Deer Park Fire Department. Other seriously injured people were taken by ambulance to South Shore University Hospital and Good Samaritan University Hospital.

Police have not released the identities of the injured and dead. The salon was open at the time of the accident and Mr Stone said it appeared most of the injured were in the salon at the time.

According to a police statement released Saturday morning, Mr. Schwally was driving a 2020 Chevy Traverse. He drove through the parking lot of a shopping center before crossing Grand Boulevard and crashing through the front of the salon.

Nine emergency responders, including fire departments from surrounding cities, responded to the accident, and 150 firefighters and paramedics were on the scene, Stone said. Authorities closed Grand Boulevard to traffic for hours after the accident.