Illegal immigrant truck driver charged in deadly California crash
Claudia Cowan reports from Lodi, California, on a fatal crash involving a semi-truck, where Manveer Singh, described by officials as an illegal immigrant, faces a vehicular manslaughter charge. DHS says Singh was apprehended and released at the Arizona border in 2023. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and other federal officials are now urging passage of “Delilah’s Law,” a proposal aimed at barring illegal immigrants from obtaining commercial driver’s licenses.
A truck driver authorities identify as an illegal immigrant, who they say stayed in the U.S. after being ordered to depart, has been charged in connection with the death of a Pennsylvania State Police trooper who had recently returned home to help care for his mother as she underwent cancer treatment.
The fatal collision adds to a growing list of deadly crashes involving noncitizen commercial truck drivers, incidents that have fueled the Trump administration’s push to impose stricter rules on commercial driver’s licenses.
Michael E. Pahira Jr., 44, was carrying out a commercial vehicle inspection Wednesday morning on Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County when another semi-truck veered off the road, hitting his marked patrol vehicle and the truck under inspection before striking him, Pennsylvania State Police said. Both semi-trucks caught fire after the impact. Pahira was taken to a local hospital, where he later died.
Authorities identified the driver as 33-year-old Michael Bon, a Haitian national residing in Brockton, Massachusetts. He has been charged with homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, reckless driving and six other lesser offenses. Bon is being held at Schuylkill County Prison on $700,000 bail, with his next court appearance set for July 15.
The Department of Homeland Security has placed an immigration detainer on Bon.
Michael Pahira became a member of the Pennsylvania State Police in 2007 and most recently worked as a Motor Carrier Enforcement Inspector, performing commercial vehicle inspections intended to help protect drivers on Pennsylvania highways. (Pennsylvania State Police)
Bon arrived in the United States through Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in July 2024 under the Biden administration’s humanitarian parole program. He subsequently sought Temporary Protected Status, but that request was rejected. DHS ended his parole in June 2025 and directed him to leave the country, though officials say he remained in the U.S.
While living in Massachusetts, Bon obtained a non-domiciled commercial driver’s license in March 2025. The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles said he first qualified for the license in 2025 while he was authorized to work under federal law. It was renewed in February 2026 before the Trump administration directed states to stop issuing or renewing non-domiciled CDLs for drivers who no longer met federal eligibility requirements.
Pahira’s death comes as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has made tightening commercial driver licensing rules a top priority following multiple fatal crashes involving non-domiciled CDL holders over the past two years.
Bon entered the U.S. through the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood airport in 2024. (WFMZ/WTXF)
Last year, Duffy launched a nationwide audit of states issuing non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses after a series of deadly crashes, including crashes in Wyoming, Florida and California. During his State of the Union address, President Donald Trump said at least 17 fatal crashes in 2025 that killed 30 people involved immigrants living in the country illegally driving commercial vehicles with CDLs.
The Department of Transportation has also threatened to withhold federal funding from states found to be issuing licenses to drivers who are ineligible under federal law. In April, the Transportation Department withheld more than $73 million in federal funding from New York, saying the state failed to revoke commercial driver’s licenses issued to drivers who were no longer eligible. Duffy said the move was intended to hold states accountable for ensuring only qualified and properly vetted drivers were allowed behind the wheel of commercial trucks.
“Secretary Duffy is laser-focused on restoring integrity to America’s trucking industry by ensuring truck drivers on our roadways are qualified and vetted,” a spokesperson for the Transportation Department previously told News Agency. “The Department is going after every link in the chain to root out bad actors, fraudsters and chameleon carriers who put American families at risk.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that widespread fraud is allowing illegal immigrants to obtain commercial driver’s licenses, which he said poses safety risks. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Pahira became a trooper for the Pennsylvania State Police in 2007.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro remembered Pahira as “the very best of us,” saying the veteran trooper had recently moved back home to help care for his mother as she underwent cancer treatments.
“I spent time with Mike’s parents, Patti and Mike, his sister, Jen, and some of his friends and fellow troopers,” Shapiro said during a press conference. “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. Just in the last few days, he helped her shave her head as she is going through her treatments.”
