DEER PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Police on Long Island have arrested a man who is accused of driving while intoxicated after he crashed his SUV into a nail salon, killing four people and injuring nine others.
Suffolk County Police said Saturday that Steven Schwally had been speeding through the parking lot when he drove his 2020 Chevy Traverse through the front window of Hawaii Nail & Spa in Deer Park at around 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
The salon was open and conducting business at the time of the crash, police said.
Three women and a man were pronounced dead at the scene and eight females and one man were transported to various local hospitals.
Of the victims, one was a 12-year-old female and the remaining were all adults, according to police. At least two of the injuries were serious.
Schwally, 64, of Dix Hills, was charged with driving while intoxicated. He was transported to Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip for treatment of injuries that were not life-threatening.
Fire officials responding to the crash said he was semiconscious when his vehicle came to stop nearly at the back of the store, which is located in a strip mall.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney’s office said Schwally, who remained hospitalized Saturday morning, will be arraigned later. Spokespersons for the office and the police department said they did not have contact information for his lawyer.
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