Alcohol continues to be a leading cause of deaths in relation to traffic and automobile operations. In the United States, the operation of a vehicle while inebriated- or drinking and driving, takes the lives of 37 individuals every day. This equates to about a single person every 39 minutes. These totals add up to over 11,000 persons deceased annually due to drunk driving. Sadly, while tough laws pertaining to drinking and driving have been enacted by every state in the union, (and the legal drinking age has also been risen), the number of fatal accidents involving alcohol climbed to 32% of all traffic incidents in the calendar year of 2022. Sadly, it is not just adults who are often affected by these horrible decisions, in 2022- over 280 kids were killed in automobile collisions related to drunk driving.
Despite the many stringent measures taken politically and the harsh penalties given in relation to drunk driving, people still regularly make poor choices. In Long Island, New York, a driver drove into a nail salon while drunk. Steven Schwally, aged 64 years old, was operating an SUV while heavily intoxicated. He crashed into a nail salon named Hawaii Nail and Spa, and tragically, four people lost their lives in the absolutely harrowing occurrence. 9 other people were injured. When law enforcement officials arrived, Schwally was slurring his speech and his eyes were bloodshot. He reeked of alcohol; it is believed that he consumed “18” beers the night before the incident as he admitted these statistics to police. He was charged with a DWI charge and pleaded not guilty.
One of the individuals killed was an off duty NYPD police woman named Emilia Rennhack, aged 30. She was getting her nails done in preparation for a friend’s wedding that evening. Jiancai Chen, Yan Xu, and Meizi Zhang, aged 37, 41, and 50, also perished. The tragedy is a cautionary tale against inebriated driving.