STAMFORD — Peter Matusiewicz died an exit away from home.
The 29-year-old was killed Monday in a fiery three-car crash on the Merritt Parkway. In the days since, his loved ones remembered him as a gentle, whip-smart young man who was quick to reach for a set of tools when something needed fixing.
A Stamford native, he attended Westhill High School where he played lacrosse, and then studied astrophysics at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Matusiewicz lived in New York City with his girlfriend of nearly 10 years, fellow Westhill graduate Amanda Barkin, but also spent time in Stamford helping his parents, Andrzej and Ewa Matusiewicz, around their home.
“He was so incredibly loved and he always will be,” Barkin said.
He was curious and handy, happy to attend to anything broken in their apartment, she said.
Matusiewicz was about 6’5” — more than a foot taller than she — and sported a mustache. He could be goofy and was like a “gentle giant,” Barkin said.
She said she and Matusiewicz took in a dog on their seventh anniversary — around the time COVID-19 hit the region. The couple and the dog, a pitbull named Lola they intended to foster, watched episode after episode of “Love Island” in their one-bedroom apartment during the first few months of the pandemic. They ended up keeping Lola.
He was a “really good dog dad,” Barkin said of Matusiewicz.
Matusiewicz worked as a manufacturing engineer at photonics maker Inrad Optics in Northvale, N.J., for about three and a half years. He was driving to his parents’ home in Stamford when the crash occurred, his family said.
Connecticut State Police said Matusiewicz struck a wooden guard rail in a median after losing control of his vehicle north of Exit 34 around 10:20 p.m. Monday. His 2007 Saab was then struck by two other vehicles that were also headed northbound, police said. Matusiewicz’s car was pushed to the right shoulder, hit another wooden guard rail and burst into flames.
The driver of one of the other vehicles said he had leg, arm and chest pains and was taken to Stamford Hospital, according to police.
Andrzej Matusiewicz said Peter died an exit away from home.
He said his son was the kind of person who was liked by people everywhere he went and had a kind heart.
“He was so soft inside,” Andrzej Matusiewicz said.
Peter “always liked working with machines,” his father said, recalling how he once gave his son a golden wrench as a gift.
He was raised by parents originally from Poland and spoke Polish fluently. When he visited the country several years ago, people were surprised by how well he could speak the language, his father said.
Peter Matusiewicz’s younger sister, Julia Matusiewicz, described her brother as dependable, reserved, complex and gifted.
When a member of the family was having car trouble, they would turn to Peter Matusiewicz and his penchant for working with his hands. He also enjoyed the outdoors and fly fishing, always letting the fish go after catching them .
“He was so unique and so loveable and smart — like, unbelievably smart,” said Julia Matusiewicz, 24.
He was passionate about his job and would “voluntarily work so much more than he had to,” she said.
“He had so much going for him, for sure,” she added.
Amy Eskilson, Inrad Optics’ president and CEO, said Matusiewicz was exceptional.
“He was brilliant and committed and meticulous,” Eskilson said. “He had what I call a large footprint in our company. He made an impression and had relationships across many —if not most — of our employees. He will be so very missed.”
brianna.gurciullo@hearstmediact.com
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