CONCH KEY -- Traffic Enforcement Deputy Nick Pham was in a festive mood Wednesday, talking about holiday plans with co-workers at lunchtime before getting into his unmarked Monroe County Sheriff's Office car to patrol the Florida Keys' roads.

At 12:20 p.m., Pham, 38, died in a collision with a tractor-trailer while apparently making a U-turn to chase a vehicle violating a traffic law, according to witnesses and the Florida Highway Patrol.

''It was just very unfortunate,'' said Debbie Tousignant, who witnessed the accident while she and three family members were driving east on U.S. 1 near mile marker 62. ``The car turned in front of the truck, a U-turn, and that was it. There was no time for the truck to stop.''

The 2007 Freightliner 18-wheeler driven by Thomas S. Hollingsworth, 43, of Sarasota, slammed squarely into the driver's side of the 2008 Dodge Charger driven by Pham.

The Tousignants stopped and tried to help the driver in the silver car that crumpled like an accordion.

''I looked in and saw his chest and knew he was gone,'' said Tousignant's son, Michael. ``We heard sirens, but didn't know he was a cop until we realized the sirens were coming from his car.''

Hollingsworth was shaken up, but did not suffer injuries, said Lt. Pat Santangelo, the FHP spokesman at the scene.

''The truck driver just said his heart was pounding,'' Michael Tousignant said.

Deputy Jason Keith was heartbroken to hear the news about Pham. The two worked together for several years in traffic enforcement. Just last Saturday, Pham served as a groomsman in Keith's wedding in Miami.

''He was just an awesome, great friend, and a great family man,'' Keith said.

Keith described Pham, who was from Hawaii, as a fun-loving guy who put a batting cage in his backyard for his son and bought McDonald's food for the kids in his Homestead neighborhood.

''He loved his son, Kevin, to death. Kevin was his world. He's only 13. Oh my goodness, his son has got to be crushed,'' Keith said.

Sheriff Rick Roth said Pham was a ''great officer who was doing his job.'' Roth had given Pham an award for providing lifesaving CPR to another deputy who had suffered a seizure.

Capt. Bob Peryam, who was elected sheriff earlier this month to replace retiring Roth, said of Pham: ``Boy, I will tell you he was one of the best. He had the highest regard for honesty, integrity and professionalism.''

Pham worked for the sheriff's office since 2004. He previously worked for the Florida City Police Department and the Dade Correctional Institution.

Keith said Pham was planning to transfer to the Miami-Dade Police Department to be working closer to his home during a separation from his wife, Jackey.

Traffic was rerouted around the accident scene Wednesday afternoon while FHP homicide detectives investigated, causing miles of backups. Santangelo said the truck driver, Hollingsworth, was cooperating with the investigation and has not been charged with any violation.

''I'm a firm believer in God working in mysterious ways, but I'm trying to figure out what the reason is for this,'' Keith said.

The accident comes less than one year after Deputy Robin Tanner died when she lost control of her marked sheriff's office car and crashed into a Marathon business while responding to a medical emergency.

''This takes the breath away from you -- two in a year for us,'' Peryam said.

Pham was the sixth Monroe County Sheriff's deputy to be killed in the line of duty.

Two were killed by guns in the early 1900s, and the last four died in traffic accidents in the past 20 years: David Comier in 1989, Michael Alexander in 1998, Tanner in 2007 and Pham.

A Hollywood police officer also was killed in a crash Saturday while on duty. Officer Alex Del Rio's funeral was held Wednesday.

''It was a similar situation, an officer going after a violator,'' Santangelo said.

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