Geneva Man Convicted in Fatal DUI Crash Died of a Drug Overdose: Report

A 23-year-old Geneva man who avoided prison time after he drove drunk and caused a Naperville car crash that killed two of his friends died of a drug overdose, according to a Daily Herald article, which includes findings from a Kane County coroner’s report on Michael Szot’s death.

Michael Szot was found unresponsive at around 7:15 p.m. on June 16 by workers at the Todd Library at Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove, according to an earlier article on the Daily Herald. He was pronounced dead at Provena Mercy Medical Center in Aurora.

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Findings released by the Kane County Coroner’s Office found Szot died of “combined (heroin, fentanyl and diphenhydramine) drug intoxication” and his death has been ruled an accident, the Daily Herald reports. The coroner’s report also listed asthma as a contributing factor.

Szot was driving July 19, 2014, with friends Mihirtej Boddupalli, 21, of Lisle, and Sajaad Syed, 21, of Naperville, when he lost control of his car and went into a 40-foot-deep lake near downtown Naperville.
Szot was able to get out of the car and swim to shore, but could hear his friends screaming for help.

Police said that Szot had been drinking heavily and smoking marijuana the night of the crash. They also said he made no attempt to save his friends and at one point told police he was not driving.

While Szot did not have to go to prison, he was ordered to one year in a work-release program, according to the Daily Herald. He died while he was on release.

Szot had given speeches on the dangers of drug use and drinking and driving, but had also failed a May 10 drug test when it came back positive for opiates, the article said.

Despite the troubles Szot had in the two years before he died, his friends will remember him as someone who was well-liked and smart.

Szot was "a valued employee at his company, and an extremely bright young man. The last years of his life were marred by a tragic accident and a horrible mistake which he spent the remainder of his life working to redeem himself for," said friend Robert Brouillette.

Scott Viau contributed to the article

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