A minivan slammed right into a Lengthy Island nail salon Friday, killing 4 and injuring 9 individuals contained in the enterprise on the time, a Suffolk County hearth official mentioned.
The automobile got here to a cease in the back of the Hawaii Nail & Spa retailer in Deer Park about 4:40 p.m.
“There have been individuals trapped,” assistant Chief Dominic Albanese of the Deer Park Fireplace Division informed reporters on the scene. “We extricated them and transported them to space hospitals.”
The driving force was semiconscious and brought to a hospital, Albanese mentioned.
It was not instantly clear whether or not the crash was unintended or intentional, officers mentioned. Investigators remained on the scene into the night.
Photographs from the scene confirmed a gaping gap within the storefront, which is positioned in a strip mall.
Eric Perez informed Newsday he was loading groceries into his automotive throughout from the accident scene when he heard the sound of a rushing automotive after which a noise that “seemed like shattering.”
“It was a sound that I by no means heard earlier than,” he mentioned.
As he and his spouse have been leaving the car parking zone, he mentioned, he noticed emergency crews eradicating victims from the scene.
“We noticed the ambulance and emergency staff pulling one physique out,” he mentioned. “And I noticed two girls I feel labored there come out on stretchers.”
Suffolk County police didn’t instantly reply to emailed requests for data.
About 150 firefighters and medical personnel responded to the crash, Albanese mentioned.
“It’s horrible. It’s going to be robust for the group, robust for the volunteer hearth division,” he mentioned. “However we’re going to get by it.”