Leg injury could be factor in alleged DWI crash in Deer Park that killed four, attorney for suspect Steven Schwally says

A new attorney for the alleged drunken driver who crashed into a Deer Park nail salon, killing four, said a preexisting right leg injury may have been a factor in the June crash.

Attorney Christopher Cassar, of Huntington, said client Steven Schwally has "pins in that leg and ankle."

"We're reviewing all the evidence, all the medical records to see exactly what happened," Cassar told reporters after a brief appearance in court Wednesday.

Asked how such an injury might have caused a crash, Cassar said," he couldn't take his foot off [the gas]."

Cassar, who said his client is a military veteran but his injury happened outside of service, declined to discuss the specifics of the injury, saying his office is still looking into his health history.

Schwally was previously represented by the Legal Aid Society of Suffolk County, which was formally relieved from the case Wednesday.

Schwally, again in a wheelchair, the hair on his head freshly shaved, was greeted by his new attorney as he entered the courtroom.

"I know who you are," he could be heard telling Cassar. "How could I forget?"

Assistant Suffolk County District Attorney Alexander Bopp told Suffolk Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro that prosecutors have a few outstanding items of discovery to turn over. The case is expected to be certified ready for trial Oct. 17, though an actual trial would likely be months away. Ambro waived Schwally's appearance for the next court date.

Families of the alleged victims declined to comment outside the courtroom.

Schwally, 64, who was living in a Commack motel on June 28 when he crashed into Hawaii Nail Salon and Spa, is facing four counts of second-degree murder for causing the deaths of off-duty NYPD Officer Emilia Rennhack, 30, of Deer Park, salon co-owner Jian Chai "Ken" Chen, 37, of Bayside, Queens, and salon employees Yan Xu, 41, and Mei Zi Zhang, 50, both residents of Queens.

At about 11 a.m. on June 28, 5½ hours before the crash, Schwally bought two 375-milliliter bottles of Montebello Long Island Iced Tea Cocktail at a liquor store adjacent to the salon and drove around the area until the crash, Bopp previously said. Fourteen people were inside as he drove through the storefront at 78 mph, the prosecutor said.

Bopp previously said Schwally asked first responders to help him out of his 2020 Chevy Traverse, but they first had to remove four victims from under the vehicle. He said Schwally never asked about the victims and instead focused his remarks at the scene to concerns about himself.

Prosecutors said at 6:10 p.m. on June 28, after investigators got a blood sample from the hospital through a warrant, they learned Schwally had blood alcohol content of 0.17%, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08%. That was more than 90 minutes after he allegedly nearly struck pedestrians outside of a Kohl's store across the street from the salon, continued across lanes of traffic on Grand Boulevard and navigated his vehicle through an empty parking spot outside the storefront, prosecutors have said.

Vehicle data showed not only that Schwally was driving 78 mph at the time of the crash but that his "accelerator pedal was 99% full," Bopp said.

During Schwally's arraignment, prosecutors detailed how investigators pieced together the way they believe Schwally consumed alcohol before the crash. Bopp previously told the court Schwally said he drank 18 beers the night before the crash, stopping around 4 a.m. A search of the motel room where Schwally was living turned up no evidence of any beer, but investigators instead found an empty bottle of the Long Island iced tea cocktail — a 42-proof drink, Bopp had said.

Financial records show Schwally spent $13.99 at the same liquor store nearly every day in the weeks leading up to the crash, the equivalent price of two of the bottles found in his car, Bopp said.

A search of Schwally's vehicle found two empty bottles of the beverage and one full one on the front floorboard, Bopp said.

Schwally's movement in the moments before the crash was captured on multiple surveillance cameras, according to footage already submitted to the court and released to the public.

Schwally has been remanded to the Suffolk County Jail without bail since his arrest.

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.