The man accused of drunkenly ploughing into a Long Island nail salon at 78 mph, killing four people — including an off-duty NYPD cop — apparently doesn’t think much of his victims.
During an exclusive 35-minute jailhouse interview this week with The Post, the egomaniacal Steven Schwally didn’t mention Officer Emilia Rennhack and the three salon employees he shot in the June 28 incident — until a reporter finally asked him what he would say to grieving families if he had the chance.
After first asking a reporter how she would answer the question, Schwally, 64, said he would tell them he was “sorry” for the hurt he caused.
He quickly added: “I don’t like to think about it.”
The three-year Navy veteran, who is twice divorced, unemployed and homeless, said he remembers first responders dragging him out of the driver’s side window of his Chevrolet Traverse after crashing it into Hawaii Nail & Spa in Deer Park, and remembers seeing how destroyed his vehicle was — but nothing else.
Although he pleaded not guilty when charged with four counts of second-degree murder and other charges, Schwally told the Post he was “guilty” during the interview at Riverhead Correctional Center, where he is being held on $1 million bail.
“It’s over for me,” lamented Schwally, who wore a yellow prison jumpsuit and had a walker nearby. “It’s over for me.”
Schwally admitted to the Post that he was an alcoholic. He reportedly drank a few bottles of Montebello Long Island Iced Tea before the shocking incident, which left nine people injured.
He said his days outside typically consisted of waking up, buying alcohol, walking around the neighborhood and stopping to make phone calls.
Schwally told police he drank 18 beers and stopped drinking around 3 a.m. the day of the crash, authorities said.
Schwally spent a week in the hospital immediately after the incident and complained of being heavily medicated by prison staff and not being able to sleep.
Schwally insisted he was not “always drunk” and only started drinking about 25 years ago.
Schwally was charged with drunken driving in Dix Hills, New York, in 2013 after crashing into a mailbox. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years of probation.
Families of the Hawaii Nail & Spa victims declined to comment or were not immediately available for comment.
