Highland Park Mass Shooting Survivor Dies After Bike Crash With Amazon Delivery Van

GLENCOE, IL — The cyclist who collided with a parked delivery van on Sheridan Road on Wednesday died from his injuries Saturday at Evanston Hospital.

John Kezdy, 64, of Highland Park, was a retired attorney, former lead singer of the influential punk band The Effigies and a mass shooting survivor.

Kezdy was riding north on Sheridan Road past the curve at South Avenue when he struck the rear of a parked Dodge Ram ProMaster, according to a statement from the Glencoe Public Safety Department.

Paramedics performed "life-saving measures" at the site of the crash and rushed Kezdy to NorthShore University Evanston Hospital in critical condition, according to public safety officials.

The driver of the Dodge, an Amazon delivery van that was parked in the unprotected bike lane, stayed at the scene of the crash and cooperated with investigators.

Kezdy was pronounced dead Saturday morning, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, which had not yet released the cause and manner of his death as of Monday morning.

According to past reports, Kezdy was a graduate of Evanston Township High School, Northwestern University and DePaul's law school.

He later worked as an assistant state's attorney in Kankakee County before going to work in the Illinois Attorney General's Office, where he eventually became statewide grand jury bureau chief.

"We lost a phenomenal public servant in John Kezdy. He took a bullet to the elbow at the Highland Park parade, but wanted to get back to work right away," Attorney General Kwame Raoul said Monday in a social media post. "He will be sorely missed by our Illinois Attorney General Office family. Rest in peace John."

After his retirement, Kezdy took part in about a half-dozen bike races in each of the past two seasons, most recently competing in four days of the Intelligentsia Cup in Chicago and the suburbs.

Before he graduated from law school, Kezdy's band, The Effigies, was one of Chicago's first punk bands.

Producer Steve Albini was among those who paid tribute to Kezdy on social media following news of his death.

“John Kezdy was a hero of mine. Effigies were the first great band from Chicago’s scene, his stern, declamatory style influenced a generation, and he helped me in material ways," Albini said. "Not overstating to say that without John and the Effigies, I would never have made any records."

Tim Midyett, of the bands Silkworm, Bottomless Pit and Mint Mile, recalled seeing Kezdy a few weeks earlier at his summer barbecue.

"He and Erica missed it the previous year. They got shot that day at the Highland Park 4th of July parade. We talked about the capriciousness of life for a few minutes…and almost visibly shrugged it off. What’s the point?," Midyett said. "We laughed at our machinations against aging. John was kicking against it with all he had. I wish very much he was still able to do it. Yet more grateful to have even known him."

Kezdy and his wife of 24 years were both injured in last year's mass shooting in Highland Park, Streetsblog Chicago first reported.

''I've made my peace with the real world, and I'm willing to wear a suit if that's what it takes to make a living,'' Kezdy said in a 1990 interview.

''But the catharsis that music provides will always be a part of my life because it opened up so many things for me," he told former Chicago Tribune music critic Greg Kot. "Imagine, the guy who couldn't speak in class became the singer in a rock band.''