He died in a car accident at the age of 36 in Herkimer, New York, when he hit a tank truck while driving 90 miles per hour (140 km/h) against the flow of traffic to evade capture by the police.
It was initially thought that Strzelczyk was under the influence of alcohol or drugs due to his irrational behavior, but this was disproved by toxicity tests. A post-mortem autopsy revealed that he had suffered from brain damage, likely due to his years of playing football.
