Wake to be held for officer killed in Deer Park nail salon crash, allegedly caused by drunk driver

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Friday, July 5, 2024
Wake held for NYPD officer killed in Dix Hills nail salon crash
Wake held for NYPD officer killed in Dix Hills nail salon crashA wake will be held for NYPD Officer Emilia Rennhack on Friday.

DEER PARK, Long Island (WABC) -- Family, friends, and the community will pay their respects to NYPD Officer Emilia Rennhack this weekend on Long Island.

Rennhack was one of four people killed when an alleged drunk driver crashed into a nail salon in Deer Park last Friday.

Pictured left to right: Jiancai Chen, Emilia Rennhack and Meizi Zhang
Pictured left to right: Jiancai Chen, Emilia Rennhack and Meizi Zhang

Also killed in the crash were Jiancai 'Kenny' Chen, 37, of Bayside, Queens, Yan Xu, 41, of Flushing, Queens, and Meizi Zhang, 50, of Flushing, Queens.

The 30-year-old was off-duty at the time, getting her nails done for a wedding.

Her wake will be held Friday at New Hyde Park Funeral Home from 2 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Officer Rennhack's funeral will also be held there on Saturday at noon.

Officer Rennhack was assigned to the 102nd Precinct in Queens, where her husband is a detective.

Police say Steven Schwally, 64, was drunk when he plowed an SUV through Hawaii Nail Salon.

Schwally, of Dix Hills, has been charged with DWI, and additional charges could still be filed against him.

This is not Schwally's first DWI incident. He pleaded guilty to similar charges in Suffolk County in March 2013.

Schwally was held on $1 million cash bail at his arraignment Monday afternoon in Central Islip.

Prosecutors say he is a Marine Corps veteran who is living at a Motor Inn in Commack.

He told police he had 18 beers the night before the crash, and stopped drinking at 4 a.m.

Schwally is due back in court on July 12.

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