Tucson Region

60 seconds to tragedy

Their lives collided in a fierce, 60-second struggle on a dark stretch of road west of Tucson on Wednesday night. In the end, the three men died together, hit by a driver who likely never saw the deputy and the taxicab driver grappling with the "crazed" man in the middle of Ajo Way near Kinney Road. The deputy, Timothy David Graham, 30, was finding success in his lifelong dream of being a police officer and in his personal life with a new wife and family. The cabbie, Dawud Isa Abusida, 56, impressed friends and family with his intelligence and kindness and had recently started his own company. The third man, Aaron Swyers, 23, had a troubled past - run-ins with law enforcement and suicide attempts, officials said. He had asked for the deputy's help twice that night before resisting arrest. "This is a very somber day," said Pima County Sheriff's Department Capt. Rick Kastigar. "We're very saddened not only by the tragic death of our officer, but also by the tragic death of a Good Samaritan who tried to help our officer. We are also deeply troubled that the suspect died. This has affected each of us to the soul." It was the department's first line-of-duty death since 1986 and the first in the greater Tucson area since Tucson police Officer Patrick Hardesty was shot in May 2003. The Sheriff's Department asked the Arizona Department of Public Safety to investigate the accident, and results may be released next week, said Officer Jim Oien, a DPS spokesman. But some questions may never be answered. "Tragic accident"

Graham went to Swyers' mother's house a few blocks from Ajo and Kinney after Swyers called 911 around 6 p.m. He rambled on the phone for 20 minutes and sounded paranoid, said Sheriff Clarence Dupnik and other officials. Swyers' mother wanted him to leave and, after Graham and two other deputies arrived, he called a taxi and left. But he had a dispute with the cabdriver over money and was dropped off at a Circle K at Ajo and Kinney. Swyers called 911 again, complaining he needed a ride. A third call came in from someone else at the store, calling Swyers "crazed." Just after Graham arrived at the store, he called for backup. His tone of voice made dispatchers act quickly and help was there in about a minute, Dupnik said. But by that time, the deputy, the cabdriver and Swyers were dead. Authorities said Swyers resisted arrest and fought Graham across the street and into the wide median on Ajo. Graham used his Taser on Swyers, but only one of two probes needed to activate a shock hit him, Dupnik said. Abusida saw the deputy struggling and ran to help. With his assistance, Graham was able to handcuff one of Swyers' wrists. But all three fell into westbound traffic and died when they were hit by a pickup. Officials will not name the 70-year-old driver, who had his 12-year-old grandson with him, and there will be no charges. "He, from our point of view, is also a victim," Dupnik said. "There's no reason to believe this was anything other than a tragic accident." Abusida's son, Islam, 24, felt compassion for the driver. "It's not his fault," he said. "No one is to blame." Deputy, cabdriver well-liked

Grieving families and friends gathered Thursday to comfort one another and try to make sense of what happened. Dupnik said he and other co-workers feel as though they have lost a family member. "It has a devastating emotional impact on the entire agency," he said. Graham was described by his supervisors as an enthusiastic, dedicated, professional, a compassionate deputy who always went the extra mile. He left behind a new family. He married Sherry Diebolt-Graham, 37, just a few weeks ago in Las Vegas and moved in with her and her two sons. They were in "total shock" and are receiving help from the Pima County Deputy Sheriffs Association, Dupnik said. Abusida also left behind his family and many colleagues. Islam Abusida wasn't surprised when deputies gave him the news of his father's death. He knew something bad had happened when his father failed to pick up his mother at the Islamic Center of Tucson, where she and other women were bathing a man's body to prepare for a traditional Islamic burial. He took his mother home, tried to sleep on her couch but couldn't. "I had that gut feeling something was terribly wrong." A deputy told him "my dad was heroic, that he sacrificed his life helping a deputy. He told me that was a very rare thing." Co-workers called Abusida kind, honest and intelligent. Lyle Wamsley, general manager of AAA Yellow Cab, where Abusida worked before starting his own cab business recently, said Abusida "always had time for everyone, wanted to shake your hand and was willing to sit down and talk about anything." Wamsley and Abusida talked many times about religion. He'd compare the Bible to the Quran and then explain them. Wamsley wishes more people had the same experience. "You'd better understand that we're all brothers," he said. Abusida left Yellow Cab in 2003 but still was well-known and loved there, friend Shirley Spivak said. "He'd always be in some deep discussion with somebody. He'd pick your brain and roll it over," she said. "He was a source of information, but he was always looking for more information. He'd talk about anything from the sun going up to the moon going down."