An NYPD detective whose wife was killed as a police officer when her car plowed into a Long Island nail salon broke down in tears in court Monday as prosecutors revealed the suspected drunk driver had consumed 18 beers before the tragedy.
Detective Carl Lenhack became emotional in a Suffolk County courtroom as fellow NYPD officers consoled him as Steven Schwary was ordered held on $1 million bail on a drunk driving charge in the crash that killed NYPD Officer Emilia Lenhack and three others at a Deer Park salon on Friday.
The newlyweds met at work and were married just in September.
“The defendant’s vehicle went through the intersection, became airborne, struck the curb in front of Hawaiian Nail & Spa, drove through an empty parking space and crashed through the front window of Hawaiian Nail & Spa,” Suffolk County Prosecutor Alexander Bopp said in court Monday.
“The defendant admitted to Suffolk County police detectives that he had consumed 18 beers the night before and said he stopped drinking around 3 or 4 a.m.,” Bopp said.
Schwallie, 64, faces a DUI charge in the fatal crash, but Bopp said the case has been presented to a grand jury, which he expects to bring more serious charges.
Schwallie, who is unemployed and living in a makeshift hotel, is a former U.S. Marine police officer and retired from UPS, his lawyer said in court.
The DUI suspect shook his head in court but said nothing as he sat in a wheelchair wearing blue hospital scrubs and faced Suffolk County Judge Bernard Chen.
The Washington Post reported Monday that Schwalli was arrested for drunk driving in 2013 after crashing into a mailbox in Dix Hills, then fleeing the scene and being arrested for drowsy driving.
Police said Schwarie was again allegedly intoxicated when he crashed his car into a nail salon on Friday, killing and injuring more than a dozen people, including a 12-year-old girl.
Ms Ren Hak, 30, had gone to a nail salon for a fellow officer’s wedding later that day when she and three others – Zhenkai Chen, 37, Yang Xu, 41, and Meiji Zhang, 50 – were killed.
Emilia Renhack (real name Emilia Kowalczyk) graduated from Prospect Heights International High School and went on to John Jay College of Criminal Justice, where she was a star soccer player.
She joined New York’s Finest in 2018 and was most recently assigned to the 102nd Precinct in Queens.
NYPD union president Patrick Hendry said in a statement that her family now deserves justice.
“This individual’s terrible choices have shattered people’s lives and turned dozens of families upside down,” Hendry said. “He should never have been driving that day and should never be on the road again.”
