Geneva Driver in Crash that Killed 2 Friends Dies at College Library

Written by Scott Viau

A 23-year-old Geneva man who avoided prison time after causing a Naperville car crash that killed two of his friends died unexpectedly June 16.

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

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A cause of death is pending toxicology tests as the autopsy did not show any obvious signs of trauma, the article said.

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.
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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.