"He was a supporter:" Parents of Dustin Strzelecki, who fell at Bayshore, hope to carry on his legacy

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- On January 12th, 21-year-old Dustin Strzelecki fell 20 feet over a railing at Bayshore Town Center. Nine days later, he passed away at Froedtert Hospital. For the first time, in an exclusive interview with FOX6 News, Strzelecki's parents are talking about his life, and their plans to help others.

"Dustin enjoyed his life. He smiled all the time, laughed all the time. It's still surreal. You see pictures that we have around the house and you just feel like any moment he's going to walk through the door,"

On the evening of January 12th, Strzelecki was at Bayshore Town Center with some co-workers.

"He was having a great time. Everybody that came in contact with him that could get to us said, you know, these kids were just having fun. They were having good old-fashioned fun,"

Strzelecki's mom says Dustin was sliding from the second story balcony -- not unlike he had done countless times before, when he fell nearly 20 feet over the railing. He was taken to Froedtert Hospital and placed on life support. Just over a week later, he passed away.

"I can't imagine what they relive every day -- knowing they saw our son fall, and for us, I don`t want them to live with that last memory in their mind. I want them to live with the memory of the happiness that he brought to them,"

That's what is getting Bill and Julia Strzelecki through this terrible tragedy -- knowing what their son did for others.

"He was a supporter. He was a supporter of people in their everyday life. I'll help you in school,  I`ll help you academically, help you work out, help you come up with a better food program. Whatever it was, he was always willing,"

Now, his parents want to carry that on. They plan to establish a foundation in Dustin's name and eventually build a health and wellness center -- as that was a very important part of his life.

"For people that may not have the support that Dustin had, or people that may not have the family environment that Dustin was fortunate enough to have, and to try to help others, in the simplest of ways or grandiose of ways,"

It is their focus as they cope with losing an amazing young man far too soon.

"I'll never say goodbye to Dustin. Never. It's until we met again. And we will,"

Bill and Julia Strzelecki say they've been contacted by attorneys and others talking about lawsuits. They say that's not something they'll pursue. Instead, they're focused on remembering Dustin's life and paying it forward.

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