Four people were killed and nine others were injured after an SUV crashed into a Long Island, New York, nail salon Friday afternoon.
The vehicle slammed into Hawaii Nail & Spa on Grand Boulevard in Deer Park shortly before 5 p.m.
The driver, Steven Schwally, was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, Suffolk County police said Saturday. He was transported to Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip for non-life-threatening injuries and will be arraigned at a later date.
All of those killed or injured were inside the salon at the time, according to Lt. Kevin Heissenbuttel. Some people were trapped in the salon and had to be extricated by emergency services, he said.
Schwally, 64, was allegedly driving a Chevy Traverse southbound at a high rate of speed through a parking lot when he crossed over Grand Boulevard, police said in a news release. The vehicle continued through the parking lot of the nail salon and crashed through the front window, authorities said.
A witness told NBC New York that the SUV plowed through the front of the business and almost came out through the back of the salon.
Three women and a man died at the scene, police said. Eight of the injured victims were taken by ambulance to local hospitals and one was airlifted to the hospital.
One witness described seeing the vehicle racing through the parking lot across the street before crashing, NBC New York reported. The witness said the driver was “seemingly in a rush” and was trying to get around another vehicle when it drove into the building.
Photos from the scene showed a gaping hole in the storefront.
Another witness said he heard a speeding car followed by a “shattering” noise, The Associated Press reported.
“It was a sound that I never heard before,” he said.
About 150 firefighters and EMS personnel responded to the scene.
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