A commercial truck driver with a Massachusetts license reportedly struck and killed a Pennsylvania State Police trooper this week in a fiery crash on Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County. The driver is reported to be a Haitian national illegally present in the United States.
Pennsylvania State Trooper Michael Pahira, Jr., died on Thursday after being struck by a tractor-trailer during an inspection of another 18-wheeler. The crash resulted in the death of Trooper Pahira.
WGAL NBC8 reports that Trooper Pahira was conducting a safety inspection on a tractor-trailer rig when a truck driven by Michael Bon, a 33-year-old male from Brockton, Massachusetts, allegedly veered off the roadway onto the shoulder. The tractor’s mirror struck the patrol vehicle before Bon’s truck reportedly struck the rear of the vehicle being inspected.
Trooper Pahira became trapped under the front bumper of Bon’s truck before the vehicle burst into flames. Nearby construction workers rushed to the scene and dragged the trooper from beneath the burning wreckage, the local NBC affiliate reported.
Emergency medical crews transported Pahira to a hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.
Police took Bon into custody. He now faces the following charges, according to the NBC affiliate:
- Homicide by vehicle
- Aggravated assault by vehicle
- Recklessly endangering another person
- Involuntary manslaughter
- Reckless driving
- Careless driving
- Duty of driver in relation to emergency response area
- Driving on roadways laned for traffic
- Obedience to traffic control device
On Friday, the Boston Herald reported that the Department of Homeland Security identified Bon as a Haitian national, illegally present in the United States. Bon entered the United States during the Biden administration on July 2, 2024, and applied for Temporary Protected Status. That status was revoked by the Trump administration nearly a year later. ICE officials notified Bon of the status change, and he allegedly refused to leave the country.
Bon possessed a Massachusetts Commercial Driver’s License that was issued while he had TPS status. However, the State of Massachusetts renewed the license in February 2026 despite Bon’s removal order.
“This tragedy — where Haitian illegal immigrant Michael Bon, holding a non-domiciled Massachusetts CDL, killed Pennsylvania State Trooper Michael Pahira Jr. on I-81 — proves the deadly risks of lax licensing,” American Truckers United spokesman Shannon Everett told Breitbart on Friday. “We demand Congress pass Dalilah’s Law immediately to revoke all improperly issued non-domiciled CDLs, enforce English proficiency, and ensure only qualified, legal drivers operate on our roads. American lives depend on it.”
Pennsylvania officials say Pahira was a twenty-year veteran of the State Police.
Bon sits in the Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Prison on a $700,000 bond. His next court appearance is July 16.
Breitbart News contacted the Departments of Homeland Security and Transportation for additional information regarding this incident.
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran and serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.
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