Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - COPS: HORROR MOMENT DRUNK-DRIVER SMASHES INTO NAIL SALON KILLING 4

Episode Date: August 8, 2024

Shocking video released of the moments leading up to a devastating crash that claimed four lives at a nail salon on Long Island.  The horrific footage appears to show the ex-marine visibly disheveled, buying liquor, before getting behind the wheel of his SUV and allegedly turning his vehicle into a deadly battering ram.  Stephen Schwally is seen on video speeding through a parking lot at close to 80-miles-per-hour, almost hitting pedestrians in a crosswalk before charging at full-speed into the Hawaii Nail & Spa. The video appears to show no deceleration from Schwally's vehicle, and the sound of screams can be heard from the salon as customers are seen running out of other businesses to see what is happening.  Inside Hawaii Nail & Salon, four people are dead, 9 others injured, some very seriously. One of those killed is NYPD Officer, Emilia Rennhack. The 30-year-old was assigned to the 102nd precinct in Queens where her husband, Carl Rennhack, is a detective. The Rennhacks were a month away from celebrating their one-year anniversary. Emilia Rennhack was getting her nails done for a friend's upcoming wedding.  41-year-old Yan Xu, and 50-year-old  Meizi Zhang both worked at Hawaii Nail & Salon and were also killed in the crash. Yan Xu's family is seeking help in a fundraiser on GoFundMe to raise money for the care of her elderly father and her 12-year-old son, who has polio.  Kenny Chen, the manager of Hawaii Nail & Salon is among the 4 killed when the SUV crashed through the salon at nearly 80 miles per hour. Chen's wife was also at the salon at the time, and she is critically injured. She has already had one surgery with more to come, doctors say her recovery will take at least two years.  The Chen's have two children, ages ten and five, and with their father dead and the mother facing multiple surgeries and years of recovery, a GoFundMe is set up by a nephew who says with the salon their only source of income, with Kenny Chen dead and his wife critically injured, they don't know where to turn for help.  Joining Nancy Grace today:  Ben Powers - Criminal Defense Attorney, Facebook: Legal Powers PLLC, https://legalpowers.com Joseph Tremblay  - Principal engineer and accident reconstructionist at Veritech consulting engineering, www.veritecheng.com Erica Linn - National Ambassador with Mother’s Against Drunk Driving and a member of the Regional Advisory Board for MADD in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania  Dr. Kendall Crowns - Chief Medical Examiner Tarrant County, Lecturer: Burnett School of Medicine at TCU  Lauren Conlin  - Podcaster/Reporter/Host- The Outlier Podcast & Co-Host of Primetime Crime on YouTube. Website: www.popcrime.tv & primetimecrimeshow.com X- @Conlin_Lauren, Instagram- @LaurenEmilyConlin, YouTube: @PopCrimeTV  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. The horrific moment an allegedly drunk driver smashes into a nail salon, killing four, all caught on video. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. A drunk driver plowed through the glass doors of a crowded nail salon at 78 miles per hour,

killing four and leaving nine injured. You know, so often at trials, I would have defense attorneys actually say to a jury, where's the video? They can't prove this happened. They can't prove that, let's just say, this confession ever happened. They can't prove the cops didn't beat the guy into a confession. But guess what? There is video.

What exactly happened? Listen. Shocking video released of the moments leading up to a devastating crash that claimed four lives at a nail salon on Long Island. The horrific footage appears to show the ex-marine visibly disheveled buying liquor before getting behind the wheel of his SUV and allegedly turning his vehicle into a deadly battering ram. The alleged killer. As a matter of fact, as far as I can tell, he's actually wobbling as he walks into the liquor store. This before plowing through a glass window, killing four, injuring nine others. Take a look at this video. The crash is, oh, well, everybody running out onto the sidewalk to see what happened p.s it's

my understanding to lauren conlon joining us uh investigative reporter and host of prime time crime on youtube it's my understanding it's estimated he was going 78 miles an hour in a parking lot? You're correct, Nancy. He was going 78 miles per hour when he crashed clean through the Hawaii nail salon, killing four people and injuring nine others, including a 12-year-old child. Terrifying new footage showing a drunk ex-marine narrowly missing pedestrians on the sidewalk before plowing through a glass window, killing four, including a lady cop. A lady cop off duty. Joining me, an all-star panel to make sense of what we know right now.

But first, listen. Inside Hawaii Nail and Spa, four people are dead, nine others injured, some very seriously. One of those killed is NYPD officer Amelia Renick. The 30-year-old was assigned to the 102nd Precinct in Queens, where her husband, Carl Renick, is a detective. The Renicks were a month away from celebrating their one-year anniversary. Amelia Renack was getting her nails done for a friend's upcoming wedding. Again, joining me in All-Star panel, but first, again, to Lauren Conlon joining us. Investigative reporter, Lauren, what happened? The ex-unemployed Marine hit that liquor store at 11 a.m.

and he bought two pints of Long Island iced tea. And this was after he drank 18 beers the night before. This is what he told law enforcement after the fact. So around 440 p.m. is when you see that video footage of him speeding through that that strip mall parking lot, which is a large parking lot. And he went 78 miles per hour and went clean through that nail salon, actually dragging the four victims underneath his car. Oh, dragging them inside a nail salon. And FYI, a Long Island iced tea is known for high alcohol content made with vodka, tequila, gin, rum, triple sec, and lemon juice.

Vodka, tequila, gin, rum, and triple sec. Okay. Um, it's usually topped off with a refreshing hint of cola and complimentary spirits, deliciously intermingled. Of course, I was reading that part, deliciously intermingled. Okay, you know what? This guy, did you say two pints? Two pints of Long Island Iced Tea? I did say that. Two pints. They're 375 milliliters, so that's two pints. Joining me, Erica Lynn, the MADD National Ambassador. MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Erica, does it ever end?

You know, Nancy, that is a great question. We are facing a public health and safety crisis on our roadways today like never before. But before I continue to address that, on behalf of MADD, I want to send our deepest condolences and support to the victims that have been affected by this senseless, violent, 100% preventable crime. You know, there are so many parts of this story that remind me of what happened to myself when my parents were killed in october of 2016. you know there is a whole misconception that these drunk driving crashes happen after a night of binging in a bar i could tell you that they're happening every 39 seconds in this country that's astounding to me. And my parents' killer drank a bottle of Jack Daniels at home,

got in her vehicle, drove to a bar, had two vodkas, two buybacks, when she stumbled out of the bar and drove on a residential area going 69 miles per hour, hit my parents dead on and threw them 60 feet into a wooded area. Like this case, there was also pedestrians on the street that had to run out of the way or he would have hit them as well. She would have hit them as well. And sadly, probably most sadly, this woman was on her way to pick up her three, five, and seven-year-old children. And there is no doubt in my mind that my parents were the ones that stopped them from dying. She hit them, my parents, before she got to her children, or I am sure her children would not be alive today. You know, Erica Lynn, the MAD National Ambassador, very often, and I've seen this happen over and over and over. Now, this is

anecdotal. In other words, an anecdote, a story. I don't have a statistic to back it up. It would probably be too hard to gather this type of statistic. A lot of people wouldn't want to admit to it but i watched many many 10 years and before that three years as a fed in a very very highly concentrated area where we would have literally thousands of cases a year each prosecutor vehicular homicides which they're euphemistically called drunk driving murders, is what I call them. But vehicular homicides are often pled down. You don't get life behind bars for a vehicular homicide. That doesn't happen. Why? Because to me, this is a drunk driving murder. People argue, well, they were drunk. They didn't know what they were doing. BS!

You know when you're drinking two pints of Long Island tea. You know that. A mixture of, I don't even know what I said, vodka, gin, triple sec. You know what you're doing. You know when you get your car key out. You know when you crank the car car up you know when you put it in reverse and put it in drive and go out on the road you know that each one each one of those acts shows intent intent to drive drunk absolutely why don't we airbrush it you know it's a great question because it is a deliberate decision to get behind a wheel. And, you know, I remember my father teaching me how to drive and saying to me, Erica, you're getting into a 4,000 pound weapon. And, you know, I wish, Nancy, that every single person could watch this video that you just presented of this vehicle going into the nail salon.

It's horrifying. It causes the most devastating consequences to everyone's life that's affected by this. And you know the one thing that you could never get over? You could never get over the fact that they all should still be here. This is not a natural death, and it's 100% preventable. That's why it's going to take all of us together as a community to make sure that we are consciously making an effort to put an end to impaired driving. I mean, Erica Lynn, you're the MAD National Ambassador. When you think about so many of the drunk driving murder victims that you have studied, or you think about your parents they are no less dead because

their killer was completely drunk at the time they died uh it just i i feel that drunk drivers that commit homicides are treated differently they're pled pled down. And for instance, the lady that you're talking about that killed your parents, she sounds like a young mom. And it's really a wolf in sheep's clothing because you see this soccer mom walking in with her children coming into court and it's hard to believe she killed two people.

And for that, Nancy, she got four to 12 years sentencing for killing two people and was out in three. And my problem with that is they come back out of jail and they recommit the same crimes over and over and over again. So we'll get into a vicious cycle. I just want to comment on this case if I can too, because, you know, very rarely, and I think you mentioned this too, Nancy, very rarely do we see a murder charge in here. And the grand jury's decision to indict on murder charges sends an extremely powerful message that drunk driving is a violent crime and it's not going to be tolerated anymore. Two out of three people are affected by drunk driving in their lifetimes. We have the tools

to stop this and we must stop it because every day I get notices about more and more victims and I know their struggle is going to be lifelong for the families and those that love these people that have that pass through this horrific crime. And even if they didn't pass, they have horrific life altering injuries that last a lifetime. So this is this is a crisis on our roadways right now. And it's going to take all of us to stop it. In the last days, horrifying new video emerging of the moments leading up to this devastating crash. Now look at this. You see the alleged perp Stephen Schwaller visibly disheveled buying more alcohol at a local liquor store before he goes on a deadly rampage. Lauren Cullen, is my understanding that this was his second trip in one day to the liquor store?

Correct. This was his second trip in one day. You can see at the time stamp, it's 11 o'clock at that time, and he returns because this liquor store is right behind the nail salon. So that's why he was returning, I'm assuming, at 4.40 that day. Suspect Stephen Schwaller had a blood alcohol count of.17, more than double the legal limit. What exactly happened? Listen.

Making his regular liquor store purchase of two bottles of 42-proof Long Island tea, Stephen Schwaller spends the next five hours drinking his Long Island tea and driving around Suffolk County in his 2020 Chevy Traverse. At 4.32 p.m., Schwaller arrives back where he started at Stan's Liquor Store, only this time he comes barreling through an intersection running a red light at a high rate of speed, going airborne, speeding through the parking lot, navigating an empty parking spot, hitting a curb, and slamming into the front window of Hawaii Nail and Spa next door to Stan's Liquor Store. Good gravy. That was our friend Dave Mack at CrimeOnline.com. Hold on just a moment. I've got to dissect each sentence because each sentence is very, is highly probative. In other words, it proves something. At trial, joining me is Ben Powers, high-profile criminal defense attorney, and you

can find him online at Legalpowers.com but first to joseph trembly principal engineer accident reconstructionist at veritech consulting engineering veritecheng.com veritech joseph trembly thank you for being with us joe can we analyze what i just heard, making his regular liquor store purchase of two bottles of 42 proof Long Island iced tea. Had to look that up. You know I'm a tea totaler, Joe. Schwally spends the next five hours drinking the Long Island tea and driving around, driving around Suffolk County. Why? In his Chevy Traverse. 4.32 32 p.m he arrives back where he started at the liquor store this time barreling through an intersection running a red light at we think 78 mph going airborne

speeding through the parking lot navigating an empty parking spot hitting hitting the curb that should have slowed him down and i stopped him but no he slams through the front window of hawaii nail and spa right next door to the liquor store stance liquor store didn't they notice he had already come in once and he was wobbling when he walked in okay that's a whole nother question for Ben Powers. To Joe Tremblay, analyze what forensic evidence exists to support the scenario I just laid out. Thanks for pointing that out. We have a couple of pieces of evidence here that were probably very important to the responding officers in this case. The first is all of the footage that we have of this driver driving through this parking lot

prior to crossing the road and then entering into the nail salon where the accident actually occurred. The second piece of information that was probably even more important for their investigation was the information that was taken from the vehicle's black box. Now that information typically includes speed of the vehicle prior to impact. Believe it or not, it can record usually around five seconds of impact related speed data prior to impact. And then also, what's also very important here is any sort of driver input. So a lot of times that black box data can include whether or not the driver was applying the accelerator pedal, and whether or not the driver

was steering in any sort of way. And I believe what was taken from that data was that there was an accelerator pedal application all the way up to impact. There was no actual attempt for any sort of braking maneuver prior to entering the nail salon. And one other thing I wanted to point out here that's really kind of suspect as to this driver's inputs was the fact that he was steering as he was driving through this parking lot before impact. And that suggests to me that he was actually cognizant and aware of his surroundings. I've got to dissect what you're saying. You're saying he is steering as he's driving. You know what? That's actually really important.

Hold your thought, Joe. To Ben Powers joining me, veteran trial lawyer at LegalPowers.com. Ben, many argue that voluntary consumption of drugs or alcohol somehow lessens your degree of culpability. No. Under our law, voluntary use of drugs or alcohol is not a defense. Now, some may argue he didn't know what he was doing. He knew enough as Joe Trimbley from Veritech, who has reconstructed countless crashes and other accidents. This isn't an accident. This is a crash. He says the defendant knew enough, was cognizant enough to steer he knew his way back to the liquor store that's where he's going that would suggest he was not

comatose he wasn't passed out behind the wheel which adds to my argument of intent so with regard to this case specifically, it's a little unique in the sense of you do have a second degree murder charge included with the vehicular homicide charges and the other assorted assault charges for the pedestrians that he dodged, for the other individuals that were in the spa that were not killed. And so it is different, but it is, you know, with the way that he's navigating the road, he's swerving around cars, he's barely missing cars, he's

dodging pedestrians as they cross the crosswalk. And then he does, unfortunately, thread the needle and goes right into the only empty parking spot at the spa parking lot, which is what causes him to go into the building. I think that's what makes this a second degree murder case or why the prosecutor went with that charge. I don't think it's because it's a DUI. I think the DUI aspect of the case is really just the final nail in his coffin, because drunk or not, with the type of driving he was exhibiting and the speeds he was going, that is arguably a second degree murder case and he could have a 0.00 EAC and it would be the same you use the phraseology he could thread the needle what did you mean by that what I mean is the type

of control it took to go into the only empty parking spot because if he doesn't hit that empty parking spot he either hits the white van to his left or he hits the red, looks like a Corolla to his right. He hits either of those vehicles, none of this happens, but he's able to, at 78 miles an hour, go into the only empty parking spot at the parking lot. So clearly, if I was the prosecutor, I would be arguing that he was in control, because that's going to help make it a second degree murder case for the prosecutor. Now, from the defense side, I'm leaning on the fact that this is a very unfortunate DUI that had tragic consequences, because vehicular homicide, if it's a DUI, is substantially lower consequences

and risk for Mr. Schwalbe than the consequences of a second degree murder conviction. I don't know enough about Mr. Schwalbe, his body mechanics, the way he carries himself. I do see the argument with him making the statement that he had 18 beers that day that could lean towards he's already impaired when we see him in this video, or he could just be an old marine veteran and that's just kind of how he shuffles around in life he should never be bailed out he should never get out of jail says the brother of jen kai chen the nail salon owner mowed down in his own shop i haven't even gotten to tell you about who the four murdered victims

are. The owner of the salon, he's a father, a husband, and his wife has horrible injuries. She is going to have multiple surgeries to look forward to. The off-duty lady cop and the others just trying to make a living at the nail salon when this guy, Shwally, literally comes plowing through the nail salon window, killing four. Let me go to Erica Lynn joining us,

MAD National Ambassador. Erica, these people, several of them running out, clutching their bags, multiple bags of liquor. They don't go help. They run to their car. I just wondered why did they not want to speak to cops? And if so, why? I honestly think they were in shock. I mean, you have to understand that these crashes happen so quickly and so intensely that anybody surrounding them is going to be in a state of shock to see a 70, you know, a vehicle go into a nail salon at such a high speed. You know, and the other thing is they may not have thought it was, you know, I don't want to use the word unintentional because we have defined that this is intentional because you got behind a wheel, but they may have thought it was some kind of act of terrorism or something like that. I mean, there are many reasons why people react the way they do when they're in shock. Yeah, you're right.

And, you know, and I believe that's the case with these innocent bystanders. Yeah, you know what? You could be right. My line producer insists that it's because they all have alcohol on their breasts and they don't want cops to find out. I tend to believe you are correct.

The one guy was not clutching liquor. The other people were, and they made a run for it. They wanted to get away from that scene as fast as they could. Listen to this. The 2020 Chevrolet Traverse being driven by Stephen Schwallee crashes through the front window of Hawaii Nail and Spa at about 78 miles per hour. Four people are dragged under the vehicle, while nine others are thrown in what is described as a violent explosion that embodies flying everywhere. The SUV is finally stopped when it crashes into the back of the store.

To Joseph Trimbley, principal engineer, accident reconstructionist at Veritech, how do I know, how can I prove he was going 78 miles an hour? And you'd have thought that bumping over that curb would have slowed him down, but it didn't. You know, that's a great point. The speed is something that they probably got from the black box data of the vehicle. Again, there's a couple of data points that they can go off of there. And first off, we have what appears to be a high rate of speed as he crosses the road. So much so that he actually goes airborne and clears the curve on the opposite side of the road.

But the speed itself, really, there's no way to do an accurate reconstruction based on the building damage. Unfortunately, there's just too much glass and bricks and doors and other objects that really don't slow down the vehicle much at all. And so for that reason, they're probably going off of that black box data. And there's certainly no skid marks. That's something you often look for to determine what really happened. Not a single skid mark as far as I know. What about that, Joe? If you didn't have this surveillance camera footage, what you could say, what you could suggest right there is that because we have no skid marks we have no braking and he's just entering this building at at whatever speed he was going with no brake inputs at all that means he's making no attempt to stop he's not really uh steering away from the building in any way he is as uh as we

said he's threading the needle between two other vehicles which again that shows that he probably was cognizant and able to steer even though he's not braking this is not the first time steven schwalli has been charged with driving while intoxicated in 2013 schwalli slammed into a mailbox in dix hills and drove off police later found him passed out asleep behind the wheel of his car charged with dui and leaving the scene of an accident, Schwally pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years probation. Schwally's brother, Edward, says Schwally has more than one prior DUI, claiming to have driven his brother to probation while he refused to take a breathalyzer in 2010 or 11.

National Ambassador for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, MAD, is joining us, Erica Lynn. Erica, isn't that just so typical of vehicular homicides, as I say, drunk driving murders? If you have someone that has committed a vehicular homicide and you check carefully, you will find out that they have had multiple DUIs in this one, including leaving the scene. Yeah, and that's very, very true, Nancy. There is a very much a lack of a lack of commitment to their acts, which is horrifying. That's number one. But the the amount of times that they drive drunk before they get caught is average of 80 times. Just think of that statistic.

80 times before somebody is caught. I've got to let that sink in. It takes an average of 80 times a person drives drunk before they get caught with a DWI. 80 times before they're finally caught with a DUI, much less a vehicular homicide. Guys, as promised, special guest joining us, Dr. Kendall Crowns, Chief Medical Examiner, Tarrant County. That's Fort Worth, never a lack of business. Esteemed lecturer at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU.

Dr. Kendall Crowns, we haven't even got to talk about the victims. Listen. 41-year-old Yan Zhu and 50-year-old Maisie Zhang both worked at Hawaii Nail and Spa, and both were killed in the crash. Yan Zhu's family is seeking for help in a fundraiser on GoFundMe to raise money for the care of her elderly father and her 12-year-old son who has polio. Relatives are reminding people that with the salon destroyed and their loved ones killed or injured, these families will be struggling for some time to come. Dear Lord in heaven, one parent dead, the other injured, the child has polio and more. Kenny Chin, the manager of Hawaii Nail and Spa, is among the four killed when the SUV crashes through the salon at nearly 80 miles an hour. Chin's wife is also at the salon at the time.

She's critically injured. She's already had one surgery with more to come. Doctors say her recovery will take at least two years. The Chens have two children, ages 10 and 5, and with their father dead and their mother facing multiple surgery and years of recovery, a GoFundMe is set up by a nephew who says with the salon their only source of income. Kenny Chen dead, his wife critically injured. They don't know where to turn for help.

To Dr. Kendall Crowns, I'm just so relieved that you are so calm, methodical, and impartial, objective when you perform these autopsies. Because when I think about the dad dead, the mom facing all these surgeries, and they have this little boy to raise. The other person has a child, had a child with polio for Pete's sake, and now that parent is gone. Dr. Kendall-Crowns, you heard that the bodies actually flew through the air. Describe what happened to the human body when this guy plowed into that nail salon. So it's a vehicle going in at that high rate of speed. When they hit the individuals, the speed will transfer into the bodies and then they will continue flying after that, after the car stops. What you'll see internally is you'll see a lot of fractured bones. The organs

will actually explode or be lacerated by the force of the car. If it hits them at the right angle, you'll see limbs torn off and even decapitations as well. So usually high rates of speed from vehicles hitting the body, there's a tremendous amount of damage done to the body that even the body can be severed in half you know as i'm listening to you describe of what has happened to the bodies there is a stark dichotomy a comparison to this listen we just had the birthday celebration party. You know, not long ago, we were both singing and drinking together. We recorded a video, and we were such a happy family. Now it's all correct.

That is the brother of Kimmy Chin, Stephen, speaking. That's from our friends and on Twitter at W-I-N-N. We just had a birthday celebration party. We were both singing and dreaming together. We record a video and have such a happy family. Now it's all gone. It's all gone. And the brother breaks down weeping, weeping. And there's so much more.

To Dr. Kendall Crowns, how do you keep your head on straight when you hear the victim's families, grown men crying over what has happened? And the last thing I want to hear is anyone defending this guy claiming, well, he's an ex-Marine. Well, I doubt the Marines are proud of this moment. So don't use them to shroud what you have done. Dr. Kendall Crowns, how long could these victims have lived after being plowed down by this guy to experience the fear and the pain of what happened? It's if they have crushing injuries to the head or their spinal cord, they could survive for a matter of minutes or even longer if they are crushed underneath the vehicle and are just kind of pinned in place with not their chest or like their pelvic region. They could be living underneath that vehicle for several minutes until they either bleed out or die from asphyxiation being crushed. Oh, my stars.

I'm looking at some of the victims. They are so beautiful. There is the lady cop who lost her life. That's Amelia Rennick, about to celebrate her one-year anniversary, married to NYPD detective Carl Rennick. Then you had Jian Kai Chen. That was a salon co-owner. Then you had Jenny Xu, an employee, 41. You had Maisie Zhang, another employee, just trying to make a living, trying to make a living at a nail salon look how pretty oh one leaves behind a child with polio one leaves behind two minor children to be raised

without a parent i just you know ben powers how do you somehow lessen that when you're arguing a case like this to a jury? So it doesn't devalue their lives that have been lost to argue what is legally appropriate. And so if I'm on the defense side, I'm pointing to the BAC. I'm pointing to the fact that he's driving the car like it's a boat, just leaning left, leaning right, just kind of meandering down the road. I'm pointing to the fact that he never applied the brake. He was going at a high rate of speed and he gave very odd responses after the fact, like, give me my license back. I've done nothing wrong. You know, point to all those various facts to say, this is a DUI. It's a tragic DUI, but it's a DUI nonetheless that had tragic consequences. This is not second degree murder. And so my fixation when I'm making those types of arguments is on the law and what is appropriate under the law, because the vehicular homicide still

holds him accountable for his actions of taking these lives. And that's the more appropriate charge if I'm on the defense arguing that. Now, obviously, if I'm on the prosecutor's side, I'm arguing a second degree because of all the reasons I pointed out earlier. But neither way devalues the lives that have been lost. Schwalde purchased two 375-milliliter Long Island iced tea bottles the morning of the crash.

The bottles found empty by investigators after the crash. Even now, I don't know we're getting the whole truth. He had a BAC blood alcohol content of 0.17, the legal limit. I don't even think there should be a legal limit. Why should you drive after you've been drinking at all? But the legal limit is 0.08. 0.17 would be over double the legal limit. And apparently they didn't notice him wobbling in. And apparently this was his second trip. He had already had those 18 beers. What about it, Dr. Kendall Crowns? My question is, if by the time he was tested, he was 0.17, I'm sure time had passed.

Would the blood alcohol level have dissipated? So every hour you don't drink, your blood alcohol level will go down 0.02. But if you continue to drink, your blood alcohol level will not go down and will continue to go up. So each bottle of beer, glass of wine, or shot of whiskey will raise your blood alcohol level 0.02. Question. Lauren Conlon joining us, co-host of Primetime Crime on YouTube.

Lauren, was he, Schwally,i the driver injured at all no he was barely injured and isn't that how it always happens the driver is always okay and he killed everybody in his path so no he was completely fine you can see the scratches on his face i mean he went into amazing yeah into court with a wheelchair maybe Maybe that was for effect, but no, he was fine. You know, to Joseph Trimbley, engineer, accident reconstructionist at Veritech. Joe, how many times have you handled a vehicular homicide reconstructing

and all the victims die and the drunk driver lives? It's incredible. It seems like it happens every time. There could be a severe impact, maybe even a head-on collision between two vehicles. And for some reason, the drunk driver is able to escape with minimal injuries. Joe. I've seen it over and over. I have no explanation. They didn't teach me that in law school. So to Erica Lynn, who is a victim of drunk driving, both of her parents died at the hands of a drunk driver, looked like a soccer mom. Erica, as someone who has been through this, what is your message today? My message is that, first first of all i'm devastated for these families i really am because i know their journey ahead and they don't even know what's coming down they're

going to have a criminal child likely a civil trial against the bar that served him and you're right that they are not uh injury they never get injured and and there's a reason for it i believe and it's i believe they're so loose from it, I believe. And I believe they're so loose from the amount of alcohol in their bodies that they're not bracing their bodies for impact. And that's why they do survive. I heard that theory many times before. I had the unfortunate example of my father taking his last breaths while the offender was in the next room screaming profanities and that was very very difficult to hear but i want to offer some hope okay i really do want to offer hope we at mad

i was part of the national board of directors for mad when we passed in 2021 the halt act which is passive technology installed in vehicles that will stop the vehicle if impairment is detected and moves the car off the road. This is going to be implemented, we hope, by 2026, and it will save 10,000 lives a year, which is significant. So, you know, it is frustrating for me as a victim, as an advocate, as M's national ambassador to hear of these crimes that are preventable. Because I will tell you, I will never get over it. I will never. I've turned my pain into into power. And I will fight till the day I die to make sure that this doesn't happen to anybody else.

Because it's a horrible, horrible thing to have to live with. Erica Lynn with us from Mothers Against Drunk Driving. She is the national ambassador. And now you see why. We wait as justice unfold. Nancy Grace signing off. Goodbye, friend. You're listening to an iHeart podcast