Every time Hezam Hussein would see someone in need or a car stranded on the side of the road, he would rush to help even if he was busy or in a rush to get somewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last week, Hussein – a 19-year-old Dearborn resident – was fatally struck by a car on the Lodge Freeway as he assisted a woman in a vehicle involved in a different accident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tributes are pouring in for Hussein, who was a Yemeni American, Dearborn Public Schools graduate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sailan Almaweri, Hussein’s friend, stressed that the incident reflected his compassionate nature and willingness to come to the aid of others under any circumstances, calling him a “hero.”
“Hezam was just a selfless person. He would help anyone who needed help with no hesitation,” Almaweri told The Yemeni American News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“He was always very respectful to everyone. Not a single person would say something bad about him. He was always mindful of everyone’s feelings. If anyone was feeling down, he would help them out right away. That was just the type of person he was.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Almaweri added that Hussein’s loss is a “big shock” for the entire community, and he is still personally trying to process it.
Hussein died on the scene on October 3 and was laid to rest at Woodmere Cemetery in Detroit on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Not a single day went by without me hearing from him. And these past couple of days, him being gone, it’s very weird not hearing his voice,” Almaweri said.
“Hezam will be remembered as a hero, a person with strong character, strong will. He was literally the best person I’ve ever met in my life.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who represents Dearborn, paid tribute to the late teenager.
“My heart and prayers are with the family of Hezam Hussein, a selfless person who just wanted to help others,” Tlaib told The Yemeni American News in a statement.
“He was taken away from his loved ones far too soon. Our community mourns with them and remembers Hezam’s lasting impact.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The elderly woman Hussein was trying to help at the time of the accident attended his funeral in Dearborn, alongside hundreds of people, to pay her respects to his family and the community.
Dearborn School Board Trustee Adel Mozip expressed condolences to Hussein’s family and loved ones on behalf of the district.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Hezam attended Dearborn Public Schools, including Geer Park Elementary, Stout Middle School, and Edsel Ford High School. Classmates remember him as kind, ambitious and a stand-up young man,” Mozip said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The entire community is saddened by his passing while he was attempting another act of kindness, stopping to help a woman who had been struck on the freeway.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The death of Hussein came two weeks after a similar incident in Fort Worth, Texas, where Ahmed Habib Fadi Dwabe, an 18-year-old Arab American, was hit by a car and died after stopping on the highway to help victims of a crash he was not involved in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Through all the shock and pain, I hold onto this: you were trying to help,” Dwabe’s mother Faye Abunijmeh wrote in a social media post after his death.
“You stepped forward when others needed you, and that says everything about the heart you had and the man you were.”<\/p>\n