21-year-old Dustin Strzelecki passes away at Froedtert after 20-foot fall at Bayshore Town Center
GLENDALE (WITI) -- FOX6 News has learned a 21-year-old man seriously injured after he fell 20 feet over a railing at Bayshore Town Center has passed away. Dustin Strzelecki, a UW-Milwaukee student, suffered a severe brain injury and was in a coma at Froedtert Hospital following the fall. He passed away on Wednesday, January 21st -- according to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office.
The Medical Examiner was notified of Strzelecki's passing just before 6:00 p.m. His family has been notified.
Dustin's mother, Julia Strzelecki released the following statement in the wake of her son's death:
“His life and death will not be in vain, we will honor him and hope to hope to help others through him. We are beyond words with filled hearts and thankfulness to everyone, friends and strangers across the U.S. who have reached out in support of him & our family. We will be forever thankful & blessed.”
It happened in just seconds. As the terrifying surveillance video from inside Bayshore Town Center shows, Dustin Strzelecki fell over a railing — landing on the floor 20 feet below.
“Dustin is not a daredevil. He is not a daredevil. He is very level-headed — and he decided to goof off, and he was going to try and slide down the railing, out of fun. As a mother, your hope for your children is that they are always safe and always secure and protected. And the reality is they will make decisions. And we have to just be there,” Julia Strzelecki said.
Dustin Strzelecki’s three older siblings, his mother, and family members and friends were by his side at Froedtert Hospital since the incident late Monday, January 12th.
A broken pelvis and shattered spleen were among his most minor injuries, according to his doctor. The big concern was his brain.
“I can speak for just about anybody in our family that if we could trade places with him right now we would,” Julia Strzelecki said.
Dustin Strzelecki’s mother tells FOX6 News he was with co-workers the night he fell. She says alcohol was consumed, but she says there was no foul play. Rather, this was just a terrible accident.