A 49-year-old Dearborn Heights mother of five died after she was pinned between her own vehicle and her house for roughly 30 minutes, trapped in her driveway until her son found her and backed the car away. Nada Shukheyir was pronounced dead at Corewell Health Dearborn Hospital following the accident, which occurred on the 7200 block of Colonial Street.
According to the Detroit Free Press, the Dearborn Heights Police Department received a call at approximately 10:53 a.m. on August 3 about a woman stuck under a vehicle at a residence. Police say Shukheyir had exited her vehicle in the driveway while it was still in drive and attempted to stop it while she was partially outside the car. The vehicle rolled forward and pinned her between the car and her house, according to a statement from Mohamed Qasim sent to the Detroit Free Press.
Shukheyir's son found her trapped and reversed the vehicle to free her, per the same account. Responding officers and paramedics arrived in less than four minutes, but Shukheyir had already been pinned for roughly 30 minutes by the time she was freed. First responders began CPR and transported her to Corewell Health Dearborn Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Investigators Reviewed Home Video, Ruled Death Accidental
Investigators reviewed video footage from the home as part of their review of the incident, the report notes. They ultimately determined that Shukheyir's death was accidental. Qasim extended the Dearborn Heights Police Department's condolences to the family in his statement.
Shukheyir's death fits a pattern federal safety researchers have long tracked. NHTSA non-traffic surveillance data covering 2016 through 2020 shows unattended rollaway vehicles killed an average of 144 non-occupants per year nationwide and injured close to 1,886 people annually, according to Safety Research & Strategies, Inc. That makes driveway rollaways a persistent, if under-discussed, hazard accounting for a sizable share of non-traffic vehicle deaths.
NHTSA research analyzing emergency room records found that 44 percent of people injured in rollaway incidents were struck while trying to re-enter a moving vehicle to stop it, while another 6 percent suffered crush injuries from being pinned against fixed structures — a sequence that closely mirrors what happened to Shukheyir. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 114 requires automatic transmission vehicles to have key-locking systems that prevent key removal unless the car is in Park, along with audible warning chimes if a driver's door opens while the ignition remains active, according to the Safety Research & Strategies, Inc. report on the standard. Since 2010, federal rules have also required automatic transmission vehicles to carry Brake-Transmission Shift Interlock systems that force drivers to fully depress the brake before shifting out of Park, according to the advocacy group Kids and Car Safety.
Family Remembers a Mother Who Worked Two Jobs for Her Five Kids
A GoFundMe fundraiser created by family contact Mirvet Makki describes Shukheyir as a single working mother who held down two jobs to support her five children, who range in age from 9 to 24. Her children said in tributes that their mother worked tirelessly and consistently put their needs before her own. They remembered her love of cooking and said feeding others — family, friends, and anyone who came through her door — was one of the clearest ways she expressed love, kindness, and generosity.
Her children recalled everyday moments together, like running errands, shopping, and stopping for falafel sandwiches with their mother. They said they will miss her smile, her contagious laugh, and her thoughtful surprises. The family has asked for prayer, for people to share her story, and for donations to the GoFundMe campaign, and they expressed gratitude for the messages, prayers, and generosity already extended to them.
Shukheyir's 23-year-old eldest son plans to step into the role of caring for his younger siblings, including a 21-year-old daughter and other minor children in the family. A verified GoFundMe organized by Hadi Saleh to help cover funeral and memorial costs had raised over $158,000 as of Thursday. A second, not-yet-verified GoFundMe fundraiser had separately raised more than $70,000 as of the same day; a GoFundMe spokesperson said the platform holds funds through payment processors until verification is complete.
A Community Under Financial Strain
The scale of the community's response reflects the economic reality many families in Dearborn Heights face. U.S. Census Bureau data compiled by Data USA shows the city of roughly 61,771 residents has a median household income of $60,391 and a poverty rate of 21.9 percent, well above the national rate of 12.5 percent — underscoring the financial challenge now facing Shukheyir's surviving children. The same data shows 73.4 percent of working residents in Dearborn Heights drive alone to work, with the average household owning two personal vehicles, reflecting how car-dependent the suburban Metro Detroit community is.
Shukheyir's children said they are committed to honoring their mother's memory by living with kindness, compassion, generosity, and selflessness. The tragedy adds to a string of freak vehicle-related fatalities that have touched Dearborn Heights in recent years, including a fatal gravel truck collision in June 2025 and an April 2024 incident in which a Dearborn Heights man was killed on Interstate 94 after a tire detached from another vehicle and struck his windshield.
