A Brockton man is facing several charges for the death of Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Michael E. Pahira Jr.
Following an investigation, Michael Bon, 33, was charged with multiple offenses including homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter and several traffic violations.
Bon was arraigned before District Judge Christina Lengel and is being held on $700,000 cash bail, court records show. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on July 16.
The incident happened July 1 at around 7 a.m. when Pahira was conducting a truck inspection along the southbound shoulder of Interstate 81 near Mile Marker 119 in Cass Township, Schuylkill County.
Pahira’s marked patrol vehicle was parked behind the tractor-trailer being inspected with its emergency lights flashing when investigators said a southbound tractor-trailer driven by Bon suddenly left the travel lane and drove into the shoulder.
The truck first struck the side mirror of Pahira’s patrol car before crashing into the rear of the commercial vehicle being inspected, forcing it farther off the roadway while Pahira was trapped under the front bumper, police said. Both commercial vehicles erupted into flames following the collision.
Pahira suffered serious injuries and was sent to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. Bon was injured and driven to a nearby hospital. The driver of the truck being inspected was not injured.
“Pennsylvania lost one of its finest public servants,” Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said during a Wednesday briefing alongside State Police Lieutenant Colonel George Bivens. “Trooper Mike Pahira, who his loved ones called Mikey … was taken from us in an awful accident this morning.”
Pahira joined the Pennsylvania State Police in January 2007 and served nearly 20 years, specializing as a motor carrier inspector, the police department said in a statement. His death is the 106th line-of-duty death in the history of the Pennsylvania State Police.
Shapiro ordered flags be flown at half-staff to honor Pahira.
“He was a good man, and he was a good cop, and he was taken from us far too soon as he served our community,” he said. ”We are all going to miss him.”
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