CASS TWP., SCULKILL COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Court documents released details on the charges filed against a truck driver who PSP says showed “gross negligence” while driving, resulting in a crash that killed a Pennsylvania state trooper.
On July 1, while conducting a safety inspection on a tractor-trailer, 44-year-old Trooper Michael Pahira was struck and killed by a passing tractor-trailer.
The crash happened on Interstate 81 near exit 119 at High Ridge Park Road in Cass Township. Trooper Pahira was dragged by the tractor-trailer “for some time” and suffered severe injuries.
According to the affidavit, the driver of the tractor-trailer, 33-year-old Michael Bon, veered off the roadway onto the right shoulder and struck the other truck and Trooper Pahira, who was pinned underneath the front bumper.
Immediately after the crash, the truck Bon was operating, engulfed in flames.
After a forensic unit investigated the crash, they determined the following, as stated in court documents:
“It should be noted that the portion of Interstate 81 where this crash occurred is a straight roadway with no defects or adverse weather conditions. The tractor-trailer that was struck and Trooper Pahira’s vehicle were parked safely off the travel lanes…meaning Bon’s vehicle would have had to leave the lane of travel to strike Trooper Pahira, his vehicle, and the tractor-trailer.”
Bon is set to face homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault by a vehicle, and various other related charges.
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