Incident location, Long Island
Zhang; and Emilia Rennack, a 34-year-old off-duty NYPD officer. All four were inside the salon when the SUV crashed through the front glass doors. ---FAQ--- Q: What charges was Steven Schwally convicted on? A: Schwally was convicted on all charges, including four counts of second-degree murder, assault, aggravated vehicular homicide, and DWI. The jury returned its guilty verdict on June 4, 2026, after two days of deliberations. ---FAQ--- Q: What was Steven Schwally’s blood alcohol level at the time of the crash? A: According to prosecutors, Schwally’s blood alcohol content (BAC) at the time of the crash was .17 — more than twice the legal limit of .08 in New York State. Prosecutors also said surveillance video showed him purchasing alcohol in the hours before the deadly crash. ---FAQ--- Q: Why was Steven Schwally not in the courtroom when the verdict was read? A: Schwally, 66, was not present in the courtroom when the guilty verdict was read because he is currently hospitalized in intensive care. His attorney, Christopher Cassar, said Schwally suffered a heart attack during the trial, which he attributed to testimony he heard in the courtroom. ---FAQ--- Q: When will Steven Schwally be sentenced? A: Schwally is scheduled to be sentenced on August 12, 2026. Prosecutors have said they hope he will be present for the sentencing so that victims’ families can address him in open court.
What Happened
A jury found Steven Schwally, 66, guilty on all charges — including four counts of second-degree murder — on Thursday, June 4, 2026, for a catastrophic drunk-driving crash that killed four people inside a Deer Park nail salon in June 2024, according to ABC7 New York.
The deadly crash unfolded when prosecutors say Schwally drove his Chevy Traverse SUV directly through the front glass doors of Hawaii Nail Spa in Deer Park, a busy commercial establishment where employees and customers were seated inside at the time. Surveillance video, which played a central role in the prosecution’s case, captured the precise moment of impact — the SUV barreling through the storefront glass as people sat in the path of the vehicle. As ABC7 New York reported, prosecutors argued from the outset that this was not an accident but a crime.
The four people killed in the crash were Ken Chen, the owner of Hawaii Nail Spa; salon employees Yan Xu and Meizi Zhang; and Emilia Rennack, a 34-year-old off-duty New York City Police Department officer. The loss of life — spanning the business owner, two workers, and an off-duty law enforcement officer — made the crash one of the most devastating DWI incidents in recent Long Island history. Emotional scenes played out in the courtroom as the verdict was announced Thursday afternoon, with audible gasps, crying from those in attendance, and even some jurors unable to hold back tears as the guilty verdict was read aloud.
Prosecutors built their case on a substantial body of evidence pointing to Schwally’s extreme intoxication at the time of the crash. His blood alcohol content was measured at .17 — more than twice New York State’s legal limit of .08 — according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. Officers who responded to the scene described Schwally’s speech as slurred, his eyes as bloodshot, and his breath as smelling of alcohol at the time of his arrest. Surveillance footage further showed Schwally allegedly purchasing alcohol in the hours leading up to the crash. Per ABC7 New York, testimony from Detective Brian Whitehead — reviewed by jurors during the second day of deliberations via a formal readback — described the statement Schwally gave from Good Samaritan Hospital after the crash. In that statement, Schwally allegedly told investigators he had been drinking until 3 or 4 in the morning the night before, that he did not remember much about the day of the crash, but that he did recall being inside the nail salon in his vehicle with the airbags deployed.
The verdict was delivered on the second day of jury deliberations. As the finding was announced, Allen Bode of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office addressed the outcome. “We’re very thankful for the jury’s verdict today,” Bode said. “They ratified the fact that this was not an accident, this was a crime.” Schwally was convicted on all counts, which in addition to four counts of second-degree murder included assault, aggravated vehicular homicide, and DWI.
Schwally, now 66 years old, was notably absent from the courtroom when the verdict was delivered. His defense attorney, Christopher Cassar, confirmed that Schwally is currently hospitalized in intensive care. Cassar attributed his client’s medical emergency to the stress of the trial proceedings. “He was very afraid. He had the heart attack because of the testimony,” Cassar said, adding: “He had the heart attack because of the lies that he heard in that courtroom about him.” Schwally is scheduled to be sentenced on August 12, 2026. Prosecutors have stated publicly that they hope Schwally will be well enough to be present at the sentencing so that the families of the four victims can speak to him directly in open court.
Location & Road Context
The crash took place in Deer Park, a hamlet in the Town of Babylon in Suffolk County, at Hawaii Nail Spa — a commercial storefront business. Deer Park is a densely developed suburban community along the Route 231 and Deer Park Avenue corridor, an area characterized by strip-mall commercial development, heavy retail traffic, and significant pedestrian and customer foot traffic throughout the day. The nature of the location — a storefront with large glass doors opening directly to a parking area — meant that a vehicle entering at speed faced virtually no barrier before reaching customers and staff inside. For more on traffic conditions and incidents in this area, see our Deer Park town page.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
Schwally faced a sweeping set of charges reflecting the severity of the incident: four counts of second-degree murder, assault, aggravated vehicular homicide, and DWI. Under New York law, second-degree murder charges in a DWI context — sometimes referred to as “depraved indifference” murder — require prosecutors to demonstrate that the defendant acted with a depraved indifference to human life, a standard that the jury here found fully met given Schwally’s documented BAC of .17 and his alleged behavior in the hours before the crash. The trial’s second day of deliberations centered on a readback of Detective Brian Whitehead’s testimony, which recounted Schwally’s hospital statement — a significant piece of evidence in which Schwally’s own words placed him at the scene, acknowledged drinking the prior night, and confirmed his awareness of the airbag deployment inside the salon. The guilty verdict on all counts represents a full vindication of the prosecution’s theory of the case, as emphasized by the Suffolk DA’s office, per ABC7 New York. Sentencing is set for August 12, 2026, at which point the families of Ken Chen, Yan Xu, Meizi Zhang, and Emilia Rennack are expected to deliver victim impact statements — provided that Schwally has recovered sufficiently from his cardiac event to be present.
Broader Impact
In New York State, a conviction on second-degree murder in a DWI-related case carries a potential sentence of 15 years to life in prison per count — meaning Schwally, at 66 years old, faces the possibility of spending the remainder of his life incarcerated. The case has drawn renewed attention to the ongoing danger posed by impaired drivers in Long Island’s commercial corridors, where storefront businesses with direct parking lot access remain uniquely vulnerable to vehicle intrusion incidents. Drivers with prior or current DWI concerns on Long Island can find relevant legal context on our know-your-rights page.