A Pennsylvania State Police trooper was killed in a crash involving a truck driver who authorities say was in the country unlawfully after entering during the Biden administration and later securing a commercial driver’s license in Massachusetts despite not leaving the United States.
Trooper Michael E. Pahira Jr., 44, was conducting an inspection of a semitruck along Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County around 7 a.m. Wednesday when a second tractor-trailer left the roadway, slammed into the stopped rig and triggered a chain-reaction collision that struck him, state police said.
Officials said Pahira had parked his cruiser behind the truck’s cab with its emergency lights activated while examining the vehicle on the right shoulder in Cass Township when the fatal sequence unfolded.
The second truck, allegedly operated by 33-year-old Michael Bon, drifted off the highway, clipped the side mirror of Pahira’s patrol vehicle and then crashed into the semitruck under inspection.
The force of the collision caused both truck cabs to burst into flames.
Nearby construction workers spotted smoke rising from the wreckage and rushed toward the scene in an effort to assist the trapped trooper.
Pahira was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, authorities said.
Bon, who is originally from Haiti, entered the United States through Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in July 2024 as a U.S. Customs and Border Protection parolee, CBS 21 reported.
He filed for Temporary Protected Status with US Customs and Immigration Services in October 2024, but his application was denied.
The Department of Homeland Security terminated his parole in June 2025. and issued a notice for him to leave the country, an order he didn’t obey and remained in the US, living in Brockton, Mass., the outlet reported.
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During his time in the Bay State, Bon obtained a non-domiciled CDL from Massachusetts and began driving tractor-trailers.
He first applied for the special license in March 2025, when he was still eligible to work in the US under federal law, the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles told CBS 21.
The license was renewed in February 2026, a month before the Trump administration directed states not to renew or issue new non-domiciled CDLs.
“Pennsylvania State Trooper Michael Pahira Jr.’s death is a horrific and terrible tragedy. We mourn him and our thoughts are with his loved ones and fellow troopers,” an RMV spokesperson said.
This defendant should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses program is a federal program. This individual was ruled eligible based on the Trump administration database and allowed to drive by federal law and Trump administration policies.”
Bon was injured in the crash and transported to a hospital.
He has since been arrested and charged with homicide by vehicle, recklessly endangering another person, involuntary manslaughter and reckless driving.
He was arraigned on a $700,000 bail, and a DHS immigration detainer was lodged against him.
Pahira, a 2007 enlistee with the Pennsylvania State Police, was remembered as a “good man and a good cop” who had just moved back in with his mom while she battled cancer.
“I spent time with Mike’s parents, Patti and Mike, his sister, Jen, and some of his friends and fellow troopers. They told me about Mike — about how great a man he was, about his high school wrestling record, his love of cooking, and his commitment to caring for his mother as she battles cancer,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said.
“Just in the last few days, helped her shave her head as she is going through her treatments,” Shapiro said.
“Trooper Pahira was the very best of us — Lori and I are praying for the PA State Police family and our local law enforcement partners after losing another one of their own,” Shapiro said.
