Deer Park nail salon trial: Jurors view video seemingly contradicting Steven Schwally's defense
Defendant Steven Schwally appears in courtroom at First District Court in Central Islip for arraignment on July 1, 2024. Credit: James Carbone
The alleged drunken driver accused of killing four people when he barreled into a Deer Park nail salon in 2024 told a doctor the crash was caused by a dog in the roadway, according to video evidence played at his depraved-indifference murder trial Monday.
The explanation was one of several reasons Steven Schwally gave officials for the crash, none of which involved the defense position that his right leg "locked up" on the gas pedal, the newly admissible evidence showed.
"I was tired and I swerved to hit a dog," Schwally, 66, of Dix Hills, told an emergency room physician at Good Samaritan Hospital in Bay Shore in the hours after the June 28, 2024, crash.
"Tried to swerve to avoid hitting a dog?" the doctor asked.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
• Steven Schwally, accused of killing four people when he drove into a Deer Park nail salon in 2024, told a doctor the crash was caused by a dog in the roadway, according to a video played at his depraved-indifference murder trial Monday.
• The body camera footage was allowed after a judge ruled the defense "opened the door" to it by blaming the crash on a medical issue that caused his right foot to get stuck on the gas pedal.
• Schwally made no reference to the leg injury when questioned by several people, the video showed.
"Yes," Schwally said.
In another portion of the video, Schwally told a different doctor he "missed a turn." He blamed "a fall," when speaking with police.
Prosecutors have said Schwally had a blood alcohol content of 0.17% — more than twice the legal limit in New York State of 0.08% — and was driving 78 mph when his 2020 Chevrolet Traverse crossed the street from a neighboring parking lot and crashed into the Hawaii Nail & Spa on Grand Boulevard.
Killed in the crash were Emilia Rennhack, 30, of Deer Park, an off-duty NYPD officer; the salon's co-owner, Jian Chai Chen, 37, of Bayside, Queens; and salon employees Yan Xu, 41, and Mei Zi Zhang, 50, both residents of Flushing, Queens. A child was among nine others who were injured.
Prosecutors sought to play the 20 additional minutes of body camera footage from inside the hospital emergency room after defense attorney Christopher Cassar questioned Suffolk County Police Officer Richard Neckles on cross-examination. Vehicular Crimes Bureau Chief Carl Borelli argued "the door was opened" to allow the video when Cassar said during opening statements that Schwally’s "right leg locks up on that gas pedal and he can’t move.
Borelli said the video showed Schwally was given multiple opportunities to blame a leg condition while at the hospital but never did.
State Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro determined the usually privileged conversation with medical staff was admissible, agreeing in his ruling from the bench that Schwally waived doctor-patient privilege when Cassar raised the leg issue last week.
"He gave three different explanations," Ambro said after viewing the body camera video outside of the presence of the jury. "None of them was that his right leg locked up."
The body camera footage instead showed that when a doctor asked Schwally if he had been sick, he said he had "high blood pressure" and blamed his history as a smoker for a cough. Asked if he regularly saw a doctor, Schwally responded "no."
Cassar argued his previous remarks did not constitute a waiver of his client’s privacy rights. He also accused prosecutors of not turning over the extended version of the body camera video during discovery, a claim Assistant District Attorney Alexander Bopp disputed by providing the judge with a December 2024 date and time of disclosure.
Fourteen people were inside the salon at the time of the crash. The four victims were all found underneath the vehicle, which rested against the back wall after traveling through the front window area of the salon, according to video evidence and witness testimony at the trial.
Prosecutors have said Schwally purchased two 375-milliliter bottles of Montebello Long Island Iced Tea Cocktail from a liquor store next to the nail salon five hours before the crash.
He is facing up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted of second-degree murder.
The jury will hear additional witness testimony when the trial resumes Tuesday.
Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.
Service restarts at noon Tuesday The MTA and the LIRR unions have reached an agreement to end the 3-day transit strike. NewsdayTV's Pat Dolan reports.
Service restarts at noon Tuesday The MTA and the LIRR unions have reached an agreement to end the 3-day transit strike. NewsdayTV's Pat Dolan reports.
