'Woke up... covered in blood:' Riverwest man attacked, robbed while walking home

RIVERWEST -- A Riverwest man is recovering after being badly beaten and robbed. He was walking home early Sunday, July 28 when the attack happened near Humboldt Boulevard and Hadley Street.

"Something like this you can't really prepare for," said Fraser Hartig, victim.

Fraser Hartig is trying to piece together a night out that left him with severe injuries.

"I don't remember anything," Hartig said. "I don't remember anyone being on the street, nothing."

He was on his way home Sunday after 3 a.m. When he passed Humboldt and Center, he was attacked.

"I woke up on the sidewalk covered in blood and I knew that I needed help," Hartig said.

Hartig went to a nearby home but no one answered. He passed out on the porch and the next day, police brought him to the hospital.

"They said that I had severe trauma to the back of my head and lacerations to my jaw," said Hartig.

Hartig's wallet and cellphone were stolen. He doesn't know who robbed him or how it happened.

"They said there was severe trauma to the back of my head so I must have been hit by a blunt object," Hartig said.

Hartig is sharing his story as a warning.

"I want people to be wary but I don't want people to be scared of their own neighborhood," said Hartig.

While recovering, Hartig is focused on the positive.

"This could've been so much worse, so much worse," Hartig said.

Hartig says he will be having surgery on his jaw. Milwaukee police are investigating the incident.