Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - DRUNK-DRIVER SMASHES INTO NAIL SALON KILLING 4, SPEAKS OUT

Starting point is 00:00:00 This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Talk about self-centered. The alleged drunk driver who kills four people at a nail salon speaks out after the horrific crash. And what does he say? I'm sick with guilt. I feel horrible. I want to speak to the families of my victims. I want to donate any money I have to college funds and funeral expenses. Oh, H-E-L-L-N-O. The man accused of drunkenly plowing into a Long Island nail salon at 78 MPH, killing four, including an off-duty NYPD cop. She'd only been married one year. What does he say?

Starting point is 00:00:58 Quote, it's over for me. What else does he say? My goose is cooked. What else does he say? My goose is cooked. What else does he say? I don't like to think about it. I bet he doesn't. What more do we know about a crash, a horrible crash, deadly, four times over caused by former Marine Marine Stephen Schwalbe. Now, he's trying to use being a Marine in the past as a defense. I doubt the Marines are going to look very kindly on him shrouding himself in the Marine mystique as a defense for killing four people. Oh, but back to him. What happened? You know, so often at trials, I would have defense attorneys actually say to a jury,

Starting point is 00:01:54 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.

Starting point is 00:02:44 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. The crash is, well, everybody running out onto the sidewalk to see what happened. P.S. It's my understanding to Lauren Conlon joining us, investigative reporter and host of Primetime 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

Starting point is 00:03:34 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

Starting point is 00:04:25 anniversary. Amelia Rinnick 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 4.40 p.m. is when you see that video footage of him speeding through 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

Starting point is 00:05:14 iced tea is known for high alcohol content made with vodka tequila gin gin, rum, triple sec, and lemon juice. Vodka, tequila, gin, rum, and triple sec. Okay. 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

Starting point is 00:06:31 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,

Starting point is 00:07:17 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.

Starting point is 00:07:41 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 MADD National Ambassador, very often, and I've seen this happen over and over and over. Now, this is anecdotal.

Starting point is 00:08:15 In other words, an anecdote, a story. I don't have a statistic to back it up. 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,

Starting point is 00:08:49 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. B.S. 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.

Starting point is 00:09:20 You know, when you get your car key out, you know, when you crank the car up, you know, when you get your car key out you know when you crank the 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 do 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. 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.

Starting point is 00:10:06 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. It just, I feel that drunk drivers that commit homicides are treated differently.

Starting point is 00:10:59 They're 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 twelve 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

Starting point is 00:11:47 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 passed through this horrific crime. And even if they didn't pass, they have horrific life-altering injuries that last a lifetime.

Starting point is 00:12:28 So 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

Starting point is 00:13:06 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. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

Starting point is 00:13:29 Me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, and me. Yes, that's all Schwally is thinking about. Now he's sobered up and sitting behind bars. And what does he say? It's over for me. My goose is cooked. All he does is talk about himself. This guy reportedly guzzles several bottles of Montebello Long Island iced tea and more before he hits the gas and plows through a nail salon. Now he's talking about his goose is cooked. It's hard for me to take in when I think about the families devastated by him driving drunk,

Starting point is 00:14:20 not just drunk, over double the legal limit. He's even wobbling. He can't even stand up straight when he goes for his second visit to the liquor store in one day. 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., Schwalbe arrives back where he started at Stan's Liquor Store,

Starting point is 00:14:49 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.

Starting point is 00:15:06 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 Tremblay, principal engineer, accident reconstructionist at Veritech Consulting Engineering, veritecheng.com. Veritech Joseph Trimbley, thank you for being with us.

Starting point is 00:15:46 Joe, can we analyze what I just heard? Okay, 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 p.m.

Starting point is 00:16:11 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 the curb. That should have slowed him down if not 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 trembly analyze what forensic evidence exists to support the scenario i just laid out thanks for uh 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.

Starting point is 00:17:10 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.

Starting point is 00:18:26 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

Starting point is 00:19:10 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,

Starting point is 00:19:53 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.

Starting point is 00:20:39 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. 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. You used 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.

Starting point is 00:21:32 It's 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, is substantially lower consequences and risk for Mr. Schwalde than the consequences of a second degree murder conviction. I don't know enough about Mr. Schwalde, 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 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

Starting point is 00:22:47 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, Schwally, 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.

Starting point is 00:23:23 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.

Starting point is 00:24:08 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.

Starting point is 00:24:35 They wanted to get away from that scene as fast as they could. Listen to this. The 2020 Chevrolet Traverse being driven by Stephen Schwalley 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 sent bodies 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?

Starting point is 00:25:07 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.

Starting point is 00:26:10 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 whatever speed he was going with no brake inputs at all. That means he's making no attempt to stop. He's not really steering away from the building in any way.

Starting point is 00:26:46 He is, 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 Stephen 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, Schwalbe pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years probation. Schwalbe's brother, Edward, says Schwalbe 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 Lin. Erica, isn't that just so typical of vehicular homicides?

Starting point is 00:27:41 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 amount of times that they drive drunk before they get caught is average of 80 times. Just think of that statistic.

Starting point is 00:28:19 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.

Starting point is 00:28:35 Guys, as promised, special guests joining us. Dr. Kendall Crowns, Chief Medical Examiner, Tarrant County, that's Fort Worth, never 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.

Starting point is 00:28:54 Listen. 41-year-old Yan Zhu and 50-year-old Mei-Zi 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 Chen, 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.

Starting point is 00:29:32 Chen'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 Chin dead, his wife critically injured,

Starting point is 00:29:55 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 had 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

Starting point is 00:30:40 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 what has happened to the bodies, there is a stark dichotomy, a comparison to this. Listen.

Starting point is 00:31:27 We just had the Father's Day celebration party, you know, not long ago. We were both singing and drinking together. We recorded a video, and then we had such a happy family. Now it's all Chris. 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

Starting point is 00:31:57 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. 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,

Starting point is 00:32:36 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 gets severed, they may die quite rapidly or on-pond impact. If they have an injury that doesn't necessarily involve their head, 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,

Starting point is 00:33:23 they could be living underneath that vehicle for several minutes until they either bleed out or die from asphyxiation being crushed. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Quote, my goose is cooked. That's a shawley whining behind bars, whining about the circumstances of his life while he took, stole the lives of four other people, including a husband, wives, mothers, and a newlywed cop off duty, having her nails done. It's all about him and his life. Quote, it's over for me. Stephen Schwaller pleads not guilty after he's indicted on four counts of second degree murder and other charges. Although he then tells the New York Post he was, quote, guilty during an interview there at the Riverhead Correctional Facility.

Starting point is 00:34:31 He's being held on one million dollar bail. Don't let him out. He will go straight to a bar or a liquor store and possibly kill somebody else. 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 Jiancai Chen. That was a salon co-owner. Then you had Jenny

Starting point is 00:35:11 Xu, an employee, 41. You had Maisie Zhang, another employee, just trying to make a living. 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

Starting point is 00:35:58 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. Schwalbe purchased two 375 milliliter Long Island iced tea bottles the morning of the crash. The bottles found empty by investigators after the crash.

Starting point is 00:36:59 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,

Starting point is 00:37:33 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, the driver, injured at all?

Starting point is 00:38:14 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 court. Amazing. Yeah, into court with a wheelchair.

Starting point is 00:38:30 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

Starting point is 00:38:59 is able to escape with minimal injuries. It's incredible, 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,

Starting point is 00:39:26 what is your message today? My message is that, 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 trial, likely a civil trial against the bar that served him. And you're right that they are not injured. They never get injured. And there's a reason for 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. My goose is cooked. You're right. This is it for me. You're right. But could you stop thinking about yourself and think about somebody else? Nancy Grace signing off. Goodbye, friend.

Starting point is 00:40:28 This is an iHeart Podcast.

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