Four people were killed and nine others were injured after a minivan plowed through a nail salon in a strip mall on Long Island, according to officials.
The crash occurred shortly before 5 p.m. Friday on Grand Boulevard in Deer Park, officials said, as the minivan slammed into the Hawaii Nail & Spa. The vehicle went through the front of the beauty business and nearly came out the other side of it, a fire official said, indicating it may have crashed at a high speed.
Four people were pronounced dead at the scene, according to Deer Park Assistant Fire Chief Dominic Albanese. Nine others suffered injuries, some of which were considered serious. One of the injured was airlifted to a nearby hospital.
The driver was among those taken to the hospital, said Albanese, adding that others were trapped in the salon and needed to be extricated before taken to the hospital.
Witnesses said the vehicle raced through a parking lot across the street, seemingly in a rush to get out of there. The driver then went around another car that was stopped at a traffic light, and as the van was trying to turn onto Grand Boulevard, it flew right into the salon.
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It was not immediately clear whether the crash was intentional or not, nor was it known how many people were in the vehicle at the time. The ages of the victims was not immediately available, and Albanese could not confirm whether there were children were among the victims.
About 150 firefighters and EMS personnel responded to the incident.
