Deer Park nail salon: Vigil draws gestures of love from heartbroken community
Grieving mourners attend the candlelight vigil. Credit: Howard Simmons
This story was reported by John Asbury, Robert Brodsky, Nicholas Grasso and Grant Parpan. It was written by Brodsky.
Seven-year-old Angelina Sicca scurried Monday evening to the front of the boarded-up Hawaii Nail & Spa, a popular Deer Park salon known for its immaculate manicures and gracious staff, and laid down a single red rose.
A simple gesture from one of the youngest residents of a heartbroken community struggling to comprehend an unspeakable tragedy: the deaths of four people inside the salon after an alleged intoxicated driver in an out-of-control SUV plowed through the storefront late Friday afternoon.
“We're always there for each other,” said Angelina's mother, Gina Sicca, 46, of Deer Park, who was on a first-name basis with salon staff.
“When something goes wrong, we do what's right for each other,” Sicca added. “When we don't have something, we give to each other.”
Heavy hearts
Josephine Sanchez, of Deer Park, places flowers at a makeshift memorial outside the boarded-up Hawaii Nail & Spa in the hamlet. Credit: Howard Simmons
And with heavy hearts, give they did Monday, as a crowd of at least 500 people assembled outside the Grand Boulevard salon for a candlelight vigil — the second in as many days — to remember the four killed in the crash: co-owner Jiancai Chen, 37, of Bayside; employees Yan Xu, 41, and Meizi Zhang, 50, both of Flushing; and off-duty NYPD Officer Emilia Rennhack, a newlywed from Deer Park.
While wiping away tears, mourners left small remembrances.
Yellow daisies, purple lilacs and red roses. Teddy bears and mini glass candles.
And photos of Chen, Xu, Zhang and Rennhack.
One note read: “Emilia, you are the strongest and most beautiful woman in the world. Thank you for being my role model in life.”
“They were just pillars of the community and always kind and very honest,” Sicca said, adding that staff would always greet her family with warmth when they arrived for manicures.
“They were just family people,” she said. “It's just so tragic.”
Prosecutors on Monday said Steven Schwally, 64, drank 18 beers Thursday night before driving his SUV the next afternoon at a “high rate of speed” through the front of the salon.
On Monday, Schwally, who prosecutors described as a homeless Marine veteran, pleaded not guilty to driving while intoxicated and was held on $1 million cash bail or $2 million bond. Prosecutors expect to bring upgraded vehicular homicide charges against Schwally, who has a previous conviction for driving while under the influence.
'Sweetest man ever'
Emilia Rennhack's husband, Carl, among mourners. Credit: Howard Simmons
Longtime salon customer Heather Sheehan, who arrived at the vigil with her husband, Michael, and daughters Addison, 11, and Riley, 7, placed a pink and purple bouquet on the memorial to honor Chen. The salon owner, she said, was “the sweetest man ever,” especially when she was an expecting mother.
“When I was pregnant with [Addison] … I would come here every two weeks to get my nails done,” said Sheehan, 38, of Deer Park. “He would always tell the technicians to give me an extra 10-minute foot massage.”
And while Sheehan most recently had visited the salon only for special occasions, she felt the need to come Monday to show her children “that when something awful happens, you can show up as a community.”
Visitors, many who did not know the victims, stopped by the makeshift memorial throughout the day Monday. Some added flowers. Others said a prayer or performed the sign of the cross.
Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer told Rennhack’s family in attendance, including her husband, NYPD Det. Carl Rennhack, who placed a large candle at the storefront and hugged mourners, that they would be cared for moving forward. The couple worked together at the 102nd Precinct in Queens.
“Lives were changed in a blink of an eye,” Schaffer said, “and so often we don’t tell people 'I love you' until they’re gone.”
The vigil was organized by Jibaritos With Troops, a Bay Shore nonprofit organization.
Moment of silence
Deer Park firefighters 1st Assistant Chief Kenny Rios, 3rd Assistant Chief Dominic Albanese and Chief of Department Robert Macaluso at the candlelight vigil on Monday. Credit: Howard Simmons
“This is a chance for everyone to get together and show a little support to the family and ease the pain,” said Jose Gonzalez, the group's co-founder.
Organizers arranged the names of the four victims on a black table, next to a vase of red and white carnations and a red rose.
Attendees stood solemnly Monday as a bagpiper played "Amazing Grace" and held candles for a moment of silence.
“Those people lost their lives doing nails,” Gonzalez said. “Shows you cannot be safe anywhere anymore.”
Mary Ann Doublet, 66, of North Babylon, used to visit the salon regularly and recalled Chen greeting her at the door.
“It's a heartbreaking situation,” Doublet said. “ … It was a great place to come to. When you hear something like this happening, it's devastating.”
Others were left shaken and worried about what could have been.
“My mother, she comes to this nail salon often,” said Michael Fisher, 35, or Deer Park. “It could have been my mother. It could have been my wife. It could have been my daughter.”