Hundreds of people attend the funeral of NYPD officer Emilia Rennhack, who died in an accident at a Deer Park salon

As a child, Emilia Rennhack taught her younger brother to ride a bicycle on the family farm. She helped him up every time, even when he fell for three hours, his brother Karol Kowalczyk recalled on Saturday.

And when she wasn’t teaching, she was learning three languages: English and Spanish in addition to her native tongue. Or she worked multiple jobs outside of school, played soccer or moved to America and started working as a police officer with the NYPD, Kowalczyk said.

“I never understood how you managed it all,” Kowalczyk said in a eulogy addressed to his sister at the New Hyde Park Funeral Home.

On Saturday, Kowalczyk and hundreds of others mourned the death of Rennhack, who had been at a nail salon in Deer Park eight days earlier when she and three other New Yorkers were killed by an alleged drunk driver who sped through the business.

“It was not meant to happen,” said Rev. Michael Eguino, chaplain of the New York Police Department, at the service for 30-year-old Rennhack on Saturday. “She had so much ahead of her and her life was cut short in such a tragic way.” Eguino pointed out that she had only recently married.

Since he spoke for Rennhack’s family, the sermon was translated into Polish.

In a eulogy, New York Mayor Eric Adams called Rennhack “the best of our city.”

“You brought your daughter here to pursue the American dream,” Adams said to Rennhack’s parents.

Adams expressed regret for the loss and said there was “no justification” for her death.

“Mothers and fathers should not bury their children,” Adams said.

Rennhack was the only customer killed in the accident. The others were employees and the owner of the Hawaii Nail & Spa salon on Grand Boulevard in Deer Park: owner Jiancai Chen, 37, of Bayside, Queens; and salon employees Yan Xu, 41, and Meizi Zhang, 50, both of Flushing. Chen’s wife and eight other people were injured in the accident.

The driver, 64-year-old Steven Schwally, was allegedly speeding in his 2020 Chevy Traverse SUV and was charged with drunken driving.

Kowalczyk called his sister “one of the toughest, strongest and hardest-working people I have ever known.”

He owed his sister his “proudest achievement” – his master’s degree from Columbia University. On the day of his graduation, he said to his sister, “I did this because of you.” Then he remembered how they had cried together.

He said on Saturday that his sister would continue to inspire him.

“I know I have made you proud as a brother, and I swear I will make you even prouder when you look at me and the world from above,” he said.

Her husband, Carl Rennhack, an NYPD detective, said she was an “angel” and a “pillar” of the community.

“She has impacted so many lives in her 30 years on this planet,” he said.

The two met while working at the 102nd Precinct in Richmond Hill, Queens.

He recalled the first time he invited her over for a snack after a shift. He said they talked for nine hours – for him it was “the most beautiful conversation I’ve ever had in my life.”

“We became inseparable, our lives intertwined,” he said. “She was so beautiful inside and out, and every time she smiled I felt alive.”

He said the two had “so many more plans” for their future.

“But instead of being sad about the things we didn’t accomplish, I’m happy and grateful that we were able to accomplish so much in the time we had together,” he said.

Earlier, the chairman of the police union, Patrick Hendry of the Police Benevolent Association, had stood outside the funeral home and pointed to a video screen showing photos of Rennhack.

“These photos of our Officer Emilia say it all,” he said. “That infectious smile brought joy to the 102nd Precinct station. She was just a friendly person that everyone who met her liked.”

He added: “Today we mourn the loss of our sister.”

Suffolk police said Schwally, a homeless man, sped through a shopping center across the street from the nail salon at a high rate of speed, nearly hitting several pedestrians. He then sped through the intersection at Grand Boulevard, jumped the curb of the nail salon’s shopping center and crashed into the salon.

When the service ended, about 200 NYPD officers lined up on Lakeville Road while eight officers carried Rennhack’s casket, draped in an NYPD flag, from the funeral home to a waiting hearse. Carl Rennhack stood as his mother gently placed her right hand on his back.

A pair of police buglers played tattoos while a police helicopter circled overhead. The NYPD flag was removed from the casket, folded and presented to her family.