A car that crashed into a New York nail salon killing four people inside was literally airborne in the seconds before it crashed, shocking new security footage reveals.
Newlywed New York police officer Emilia Rannhack, 30, and three salon employees were killed when Steven Schwally, 64, rammed through the doors of Hawaii Nail and Spa on Long Island at high speed on June 28.
He reportedly told police he had drunk 18 beers the night before and was charged with driving under the influence.
But the salon, which posted the images of its neighbour, has urged prosecutors to raise the charges.
“How unfair is this?” she demanded in her Instagram post. “We hope that the law can severely punish the murderer and that he pays for what he has done.”
Emilia Rennhack, a 30-year-old off-duty New York Police Department officer, was killed in Friday’s crash.
Security footage captured the split second the car crashed into the salon, narrowly missing a pedestrian and killing four people inside.
The salon’s co-owner, Jiancai Chen, 37, died along with two of his employees, Meizi Zhang, 50, and Yan Xu, 41, while a 12-year-old girl was among ten others injured.
Chen’s wife, Wen Jun, remains hospitalized in critical condition and $72,000 has been raised so far. Gofundme Appeal created to help her two children aged 10 and 5.
The video appears to show no slowing down as Schwally’s 2020 Chevy Traverse drives down the opposite road and into the parking lot before crashing into the salon.
The sound of screaming can be heard from the living room and customers from the neighbouring business can be seen running out of their shop to see what had happened.
Prosecutors described the crash as occurring when the driver “accelerated at a high rate of speed” and Schwally allegedly “drove in the opposite lane of traffic, nearly hitting pedestrians.”
‘He continued through the intersection, went airborne and crashed into the crowded nail salon.’
The vehicle only stopped behind the building after destroying everything in its path.
This is not the first time Schwally has been charged with drunk driving, Newsday reports.
Driver Steven Schwally was taken to the hospital after the crash but appeared in First District Court in Central Islip, New York, on July 1. He is due back in court on July 19.
Jiancai Chen, owner of Hawaii Nail & Spa in Deer Park, also died in the accident.
A salon employee, Yan Xu, 41, also lost her life in the tragic accident.
In April 2014, he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol and had his license suspended.
Schwally’s brother, Edward, also claims he has had more than one prior DUI, recounting how he once took his brother to probation after the latter refused to take a breathalyzer in 2010 or 2011.
“It’s like my worst nightmare has come true,” the brother told The Post.
‘I feel terrible for the innocent people who are hurt.
He also admitted that his brother had a habit of “speaking ill of everyone.”
“He could be cruel at times,” she added.
“What I want to say is that I feel very bad about what happened. There is nothing I can do for him. He is not in anyone’s hands. He is in the hands of the courts.”
“It’s not going to see the light of day. It’s over. There’s no way out of this.”
Patrons of the nail bar reacted with horror to the graphic images, with some demanding the driver receive a life sentence.
“I’m so sorry for everything you’ve had to endure,” Christopher Steven wrote. “Keep going, nail salon ladies. Justice will be served.”
“Oh my god this is crazy. They had no chance,” Jenny Lynne wrote.
Schwally appeared in court sitting in a wheelchair and wearing hospital scrubs.
“The screams of people inside are heartbreaking. Oh my God,” added another.
Rennhack, a six-year veteran of the New York Police Department, had been married to a fellow NYPD cop for less than a year and was getting her nails done for a colleague’s wedding later that day.
“My daughter-in-law was a wonderful woman,” said her mother-in-law Holy Rennhack.
“She was beautiful. She was very kind. She was very compassionate. She was very special.”
Schwally appeared in court on July 1, where he was remanded in custody on $1 million bail.
He is due back in court on July 19.