Hezam Hussein, a 19-year-old Dearborn man, parked his car on the right shoulder of southbound M-10 near Nine Mile Road in Southfield late Saturday, October 3, and walked across all lanes of the Lodge Freeway to help a woman whose car had been left disabled in the left lanes after a hit-and-run crash. He never made it back. A driver later struck him, and he died at the scene.
Michigan State Police say the original two-vehicle crash had left a car blocking the left lanes just before Hussein arrived on foot, according to CBS Detroit. The driver who then struck Hussein stayed at the scene and cooperated with investigators; troopers reported no immediate indications that drugs or alcohol were factors and have filed no immediate charges. The secondary crash remains under active investigation.
Hussein was a graduate of Dearborn Public Schools, having come up through Geer Park Elementary, Stout Middle School and Edsel Ford High School, according to The Yemeni American News. Dearborn school board trustee Adel Mozip offered condolences to Hussein's family and loved ones on behalf of the district, and said Hussein's former classmates remembered him as kind, ambitious and a stand-up young man. His friend Sailan Almaweri called him a hero and said his death was a major shock to the community.
A Funeral That Crossed Communities
Hussein was buried October 5 at Woodmere Cemetery in Detroit after services drawn from the same account. The elderly African American woman he had stopped to help — herself the victim of the earlier hit-and-run — took an Uber to attend his funeral at Dix Mosque in Dearborn, according to the Arab American News. Hundreds of mourners gathered across Dearborn and Detroit to pay their respects. U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who represents Dearborn, paid tribute to Hussein as well.
A Second Loss Just Weeks Earlier
Hussein's death echoes another tragedy from 15 days earlier. On September 18, 18-year-old Ahmed Habib Fadi Dwabe, also Arab American, was struck and killed after stopping on Interstate 35W near Felix Street in Fort Worth, Texas, to help victims of a multi-vehicle crash, according to CBS News. Dwabe had been returning home with friends from the Fort Worth Stockyards when he pulled over to assist. His mother, Faye Abunijmeh, wrote that her son had stopped to help others.
Fort Worth police arrested 27-year-old Sergio Escorza on a charge of intoxication manslaughter in connection with Dwabe's death; records show he was later released on a $15,000 bond, a figure that drew criticism from Dwabe's friends, per CBS News's reporting. Hoodline previously covered that crash in a report on the I-35W shutdown.
Michigan's Growing Roadside Danger
The two deaths, a continent apart, point to a danger that has been building on Michigan's highways. Pedestrian fatalities in the state rose 16.7% in 2025 to 182 deaths, up from 156 the year before, running counter to a national trend of declining pedestrian deaths, according to The National Law Review. Michigan ranked among the states with the steepest year-over-year increases in pedestrian mortality last year.
Secondary crashes like the one that killed Hussein are a recognized hazard on high-speed freeways nationwide, often triggered by sudden slowdowns and disabled vehicles left behind after an initial wreck.
Law Meant to Protect Roadside Responders
Violations that result in a responder's death can carry felony charges and up to 15 years in prison. During a single five-hour enforcement drive in July, Michigan State Police made 798 traffic stops and issued 127 citations for Move Over violations alone, per FOX 2 Detroit.
