Sokol N. Zuko, 30, of St. Louis has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for driving while high on drugs and causing a 2016 three-vehicle accident on Hwy. 30 in High Ridge that left two men dead, court records said.
Zuko pleaded guilty to felony first-degree involuntary manslaughter and two counts of felony possession of a controlled substance, and on Oct. 12, Jefferson County Div. 4 Circuit Judge Mark Stoll sentenced him to 20 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter and 10 years for each drug possession charge. However, the three sentences are to be served concurrently, or at the same time, according to court records.
On Jan. 15, 2016, while driving a 2001 Honda Accord east on Hwy. 30, Zuko ran a red light and attempted to turn left onto High Ridge Boulevard, pulling into the path of a westbound 2009 Chevrolet Colorado driven by Daniel A. Smentkowski, 84, of House Springs, and the front of the car struck the left side of the pickup, the Missouri State Highway Patrol reported.
The Accord then struck another car, a southbound 2015 Chevrolet Malibu driven by Michael S. Klog, 19, of Robertsville. No injuries were reported for Klog.
However, Frederick C. Kelly, 37, of St. Louis, who was a passenger in the car Zuko was driving, died shortly after the accident, and Smentkowski died two days later at St. Anthony’s Medical Center (now called Mercy Hospital South) in south St. Louis County, the report said.
Zuko admitted he had used heroin and Xanax a few hours before he was involved in the crash. In addition, he was driving with a suspended license, the probable-cause statement said.
State troopers also found several pills in Zuko’s pocket that tests revealed were heroin and Xanax, the report said.
Jefferson County assistant prosecuting attorney Thomas Hollingsworth handled the case.
Zuko had four previous convictions for heroin possession stemming from incidents in February 2010, April 2010, April 2012 and October 2014. He also had a previous conviction for felony receiving stolen property, court papers indicate.
Zuko currently is in the Eastern Reception and Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre.