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The alleged drunk driver who killed an NYPD cop in an accident at a LI nail salon had a previous drunken driving conviction and was knocked unconscious at the wheel: documents

Theo

A Long Island driver accused of ramming into a local nail salon, killing four people, crashed into a mailbox while drunk and was knocked unconscious at the wheel, records show.

Steven Schwally, 64, is awaiting arraignment in connection with Friday’s fatal car crash at Hawaii Nail & Spa that killed NYPD Officer Emilia Rennhack. He was previously charged with drunken driving in Dix Hills on March 25, 2013, according to records viewed by The Post.

“The defendant struck a mailbox in front of 19 Weathervane Way and fled the scene,” a police report on the earlier accident states. “The defendant was located a short distance away at the intersection of Millet Street and Village Drive West.”

Steven Schwally, 64, who is accused of driving while under the influence, was previously charged with drunk driving in 2013 after he hit a mailbox and passed out at the wheel, according to the records. Obtained from the New York Post
According to police, 64-year-old Steven Schwally is accused of driving while intoxicated and crashing into the Hawaii Nail & Spa nail salon in Deer Park, killing four people. Paul Mazza

“The defendant was still sitting in the driver’s seat,” the report states. “The vehicle key was still in the ignition, the engine was running and the defendant was asleep.”

According to documents, Schwally pleaded guilty in the case and was sentenced to three years probation.

On Friday, he was allegedly driving drunk again when he drove into the nail salon, killing or injuring more than a dozen people inside, including a 12-year-old girl, according to police.

Rennhack, 30, was getting her nails done for a fellow police officer’s wedding later that day when she and the three others – Jiancai Chen, 37, Yan Xu, 41, and Meizi Zhang, 50 – were killed.

Rennhack joined the police force in 2018 and married fellow police officer Carl Rennhack in September.

Schwally was injured in the accident and taken to Good Samaritan Hospital – until he was released on Monday and escorted by police to Suffolk County Courthouse to face new charges.

He has been charged with drunken driving, but more charges are expected to be filed.

Newlywed NYPD police officer Emilia Rennhack was killed Friday while getting her nails done for a friend’s wedding. NYPD 102nd Precinct / Facebook
The Long Island nail salon where a drunk driver killed four people and injured nine others has become a memorial for the community. John Roca

The nail salon has now become a gathering place for grieving residents, who have decorated the place with flowers and candles and turned it into a memorial for the community.

According to court documents, Schwally had at least one previous run-in with police in Suffolk County – in 2001, when he was cited in Dix Hills for talking on the phone while driving.

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