The police say the man was driving while intoxicated and ran his S.U.V. into the salon, killing four people and injuring 10. His own injuries were not life-threatening.
A Long Island man was charged with driving while intoxicated after driving an S.U.V. through a nail salon on Friday afternoon, leaving four people dead and 10 injured, according to the 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., around 4:30 p.m. Friday, the police said. The police identified the people who were killed as Jiancai Chen, 37, of Bayside, Queens; Yan Xu, 41, of Flushing, Queens; Meizi Zhang, 51, also of Flushing; and Emilia Rennhack, 30, of Deer Park. They were pronounced dead at the scene by emergency medical workers.
Ms. Rennhack was an off-duty Queens police officer. She had been a member of the police force for more than five years and served in the 102nd Precinct in Central Queens. Her husband is a detective in the same precinct.
Mr. Schwally, who lived in Dix Hills, N.Y., suffered injuries that were not life-threatening and was taken to a hospital in West Islip, N.Y. He remained hospitalized Saturday evening. The nine other people injured included a 12-year-old girl, seven women and one man, according to police.
One of the people who was injured was taken by helicopter to Stony Brook University Hospital to be treated at its trauma center, according to Mark Stone, a spokesman for the Deer Park Fire Department. Others with injuries were taken to South Shore University Hospital and Good Samaritan University Hospital by ambulance. On Saturday, the police said that four people in addition to Mr. Schwally were still hospitalized with injuries that were serious but not life-threatening, and the rest had been discharged.
The salon was open at the time of the crash, and Mr. Stone said it appeared that most of those hurt were inside 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 strip mall before crossing Grand Boulevard and smashing through the front of the salon.
Nine agencies responded to the crash, including fire departments from surrounding towns, and there were 150 firefighters and emergency medical responders on the scene, Mr. Stone said. Authorities closed Grand Boulevard to traffic for hours after the crash.
The police said Saturday that the investigation into the crash was continuing.
Hurubie Meko contributed reporting.
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
