Driver charged with drunk driving after crash at New York nail salon that killed 4 and injured 9

DEER PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Police on Long Island have arrested a man accused of drunken driving after he drove his SUV into a nail salon, killing four people and injuring nine others.

Suffolk County Police said Saturday that Steven Schwally was driving at a high rate of speed through the parking lot when he drove his 2020 Chevy Traverse through the front window of Hawaii Nail & Spa in Deer Park around 4:30 p.m. Friday.

The salon was open and in operation at the time of the accident, police said.

Three women and one man were pronounced dead at the scene and eight women and one man were taken to various local hospitals.

According to police, one of the victims was a 12-year-old girl and the others were adults. At least two of the injured were seriously injured.

Schwally, 64, of Dix Hills, was charged with drunken driving and was taken to Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

Fire officials who responded to the accident said he was semi-conscious when his vehicle came to a stop almost at the back of the store, which is located in a shopping center.

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney’s office said Schwally, who was still hospitalized Saturday morning, would be arraigned later. Spokespeople for the office and the police department said they did not have contact information for his attorney.

The Associated Press