The Telephony Partners family was saddened to hear of the loss of one of our favorite agents, Amir Sarhaddi. He was killed over the weekend while attempting to assist during a traffic accident on I-75. He will be missed by all of us and our condolences go out to his wife and two children.
BRANDON - Amir Sarhaddi couldn't just drive past the overturned Jeep and the smashed car.
It was not in his nature, friends said. When he saw the wreck early Sunday morning, he pulled his pickup into the emergency lane of southbound Interstate 75 and got out to help.
In doing so, the 29-year-old father of two became a victim himself.
Another driver who didn't see the wreck skidded into one of the smashed vehicles, veered to the left and hit Sarhaddi, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Sarhaddi, of Kempton Vista Drive in Riverview, died on the highway. His wife, Stacey, was in the pickup.
'He was a sole supporter of his wife and children, and now he's gone,' friend Georgette Deininger said.
'This was a great tragedy. He was a dear friend, father, husband and business partner.'
Charges are pending the outcome of the highway patrol's investigation. The drivers involved are being tested for impairment, Sgt. Rick Glover said.
Authorities say the wreck unfolded like this:
Shortly after 3 a.m., just north of the Gibsonton Drive exit, James S. Braley, 36, of Riverview, failed to notice the Jeep in front of him slow down.
His Infiniti hit the Jeep, flipping it over on the grass shoulder and into a tree.
Braley's Infiniti spun and blocked the right and right-center lanes, according to a highway patrol report.
Sarhaddi pulled his Dodge pickup onto the shoulder to help, as did another driver.
That's when a Saturn being driven by Jessica L. Paquette, 23, of Riverview, crashed into the Infiniti, hit Sarhaddi and struck the truck of the other driver who'd stopped to help.
Braley and the Jeep's driver, Perets E. Nisim, suffered minor injuries, and Paquette wasn't injured, the patrol said. The other driver who stopped, Jared Cason, 19, of North Port, also wasn't injured.
Although Sarhaddi's family was too shaken to speak about what happened, friends spoke fondly of him.
Business partner Gregg Alexander of St. Petersburg remembered Sarhaddi as a laid-back but hard worker who loved good audio equipment and playing Xbox video games with his 11-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son.
The descendant of Persian immigrants grew up in Tampa.
Alexander and Sarhaddi ran a telecommunications business, One World Communications, that designed and installed voice over Internet protocol technology for telephone and computer systems.
The pair had been in business for two years and had become friends.
'I'm hyper-antsy and jumpy. He's really laid-back. He took a little more relaxed approach,' Alexander said.
'I'm crushed. All I keep thinking about is his wife and kids.'
The partners were supposed to go to Ybor City's Guavaween celebration together Saturday night, but Alexander canceled after his girlfriend became ill.
He said he wasn't sure whether Sarhaddi and his wife were driving home from Ybor City when the accident occurred.
'He was just the ultimate in just talking to people,' Alexander said.
'He'd sweeten everything up and make everybody feel good.
'I couldn't have asked for a better partner or friend to go into business with.'
Reporter Jason Geary contributed to this report. Reporter Nicola M. White can be reached at nwhite1@tampatrib.com or (813) 779-4613. Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at jpoltilove@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7691.