Self-centered alleged drunk driver who killed 4 at LI nail salon speaks after harrowing crash: ‘It’s over for me’
The man accused of drunkenly plowing into a Long Island nail salon at 78 miles per hour killing four people — including an off-duty NYPD cop — is apparently not thinking much about his victims.
During a 35-minute exclusive jailhouse interview this week with The Post, the self-centered Steven Schwally didn’t bring up Officer Emilia Rennhack and the three salon workers that he mowed down in the June 28 incident — until a reporter finally asked what he would say to the grieving families if given the chance.
After first quizzing a reporter on how she would answer the question, Schwally, 64, said he would tell them he was “sorry” for the harm he caused.
He quickly added: “I don’t like to think about it.”
The three-year marine veteran who is twice divorced, unemployed and homeless said he remembers first responders dragging him out of the driver’s side window of his Chevrolet Traverse after he crashed it into Hawaii Nail & Spa in Deer Park, and recalls seeing how smashed up his vehicle was — but nothing else.
Though he pleaded not guilty when he was indicted on four counts of second-degree murder and other charges, Schwally told The Post he was “guilty” during the interview at Riverhead Correctional Facility, where he is being held on $1 million bail.
“My goose is cooked,” whined Schwally, who wore a yellow prison jumpsuit and had a walker nearby, about his life. “It’s over for me.”
Schwally admitted to The Post that he’s an alcoholic. He is believed to have guzzled a couple bottles of Montebello Long Island Iced Tea before the shocking incident, which resulted in nine others hurt.
He said his days on the outside generally consist of waking up, buying some booze, driving around locally and stopping to make phone calls.
Schwally told police he downed 18 beers and stopped drinking at around 3 a.m. the day of the crash, authorities have said.
Schwally spent a week in the hospital in the immediate aftermath, and griped that he’d been heavily medicated by jail staff and couldn’t sleep.
Schwally insisted he isn’t “always drunk,” and really didn’t begin drinking until around 25 years ago.
Schwally was hit with a DWI charge in Dix Hills, NY, in 2013 when he smashed into a mailbox. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years of probation.
Families of the Hawaii Nail & Spa victims either declined to comment or weren’t immediately reachable.
