Matthew Fijalkiewicz was driving on a Duluth highway on his way home from work late Sunday when something knocked the wind out of him.
"Did the car explode?" a shocked and wounded Fijalkiewicz wondered.
"That's when I saw the hole."
Authorities say someone on an interstate overpass threw a large rock that punched a hole through Fijalkiewicz's windshield and hit him in the chest, seriously injuring him.
The incident occurred about 11:20 p.m. Sunday at either the 35th Avenue or 40th Avenue W. overpass spanning Interstate 35, the patrol said. Fijalkiewicz, 22, of Superior, Wis., was southbound on I-35, the patrol said.
Fijalkiewicz suffered bruising around his heart and lungs, along with a fractured collarbone that needed a plate and four screws to put it back together. He was released from Essentia Health-St. Mary's Medical Center in Duluth on Thursday morning.
Fijalkiewicz had been putting in 16-hour workdays, student-teaching at Cooper Elementary School and then staffing the Duluth Holiday Inn front desk at night. He was on his way home from the hotel when the rock crashed through his windshield.
After he was hit, Fijalkiewicz pulled over and called 911. But it wasn't until he looked down in his lap and saw the rock, which appeared to be about 10 inches in diameter, that he pieced together what had happened.
"It's hard to fathom that someone would do such a thing," he said.
Fijalkiewicz expects to graduate in December from the University of Wisconsin, Superior, and pursue a career in elementary education. He said Sunday's incident served as a "wake-up call" to show him how life can change in an instant.
Fijalkiewicz said he hoped he would be able to keep the rock as a memento.
"I want to just keep it as a token and a reminder to cherish what you have and be thankful."
Anyone with information about the case is urged to contact Sgt. Aaron Churness at 1-218-302-6104 or Sgt. Neil Dickenson at 1-218-302-6105.
Paul Walsh contributed to this report.
Nicole Norfleet • 651-925-5032
