A Pennsylvania State trooper was killed by an illegal immigrant trucker who entered the country under the Biden administration and obtained a commercial driver\u2019s license from Massachusetts while refusing to leave the country.<\/p>\n
Trooper Michael E. Pahira, Jr., 44, was inspecting a semitruck on Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County at about 7 a.m. Wednesday when another truck went off the roadway and hit the first vehicle, creating a domino effect and striking the officer, state police said.<\/a><\/p>\n Pahira\u2019s patrol car was parked behind the cab with its emergency lights on as he inspected the vehicle parked on the right shoulder in Cass Township when the deadly chain reaction occurred, according to officials.<\/p>\n Pennsylvania State Trooper Michael Pahira Jr. was killed when a truck struck him on the side of Interstate 81 on July 1, 2026. Pennsylvania State Police<\/p>\n The second truck, allegedly driven by 33-year-old Michael Bon, veered off the road, striking Pahira\u2019s side mirror before crashing into the other truck.<\/p>\n Both truck cabs caught fire as a result of the impact.<\/p>\n Construction workers nearby saw the smoke from the wreck and raced to help the pinned trooper.<\/p>\n Pahira was rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead, officials said.<\/p>\n Bon, a native of Haiti, had entered the US through Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport\u00a0in July 2024 as a US Customs and Border Protection parolee, according to CBS 21.<\/a><\/p>\n He filed for Temporary Protected Status with US Customs and Immigration Services in October 2024, but his application was denied.<\/p>\n Troopers drag Michael Bon out of a police outpost after his arrest. WNEP<\/p>\n 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\u2019t obey and remained in the US, living in Brockton, Mass., the outlet reported.<\/p>\n During his time in the Bay State, Bon obtained a non-domiciled CDL\u00a0from Massachusetts and began driving tractor-trailers.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n The license was renewed in February 2026, a month before the Trump administration directed states not to renew or issue new non-domiciled CDLs. <\/p>\n \u201cPennsylvania State Trooper Michael Pahira Jr.\u2019s death is a horrific and terrible tragedy. We mourn him and our thoughts are with his loved ones and fellow troopers,\u201d an RMV spokesperson said.<\/p>\n This defendant should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The non-domiciled commercial driver\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n A handcuffed Michael Bon sits in the front seat of a car during his arraignment. WNEP<\/p>\n Bon has been living in the US illegally since June 2025. WNEP<\/p>\n Bon was injured in the crash and transported to a hospital.<\/p>\n He has since been arrested and charged with homicide by vehicle, recklessly endangering another person, involuntary manslaughter and reckless driving.<\/p>\n He was arraigned on a $700,000 bail, and a DHS immigration detainer was lodged against him.<\/p>\n Pahira, a 2007 enlistee with the Pennsylvania State Police, was remembered as a \u201cgood man and a good cop\u201d who had just moved back in with his mom while she battled cancer.<\/p>\n \u201cI spent time with Mike\u2019s parents, Patti and Mike, his sister, Jen, and some of his friends and fellow troopers. They told me about Mike \u2014 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,\u201d Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cJust in the last few days, helped her shave her head as she is going through her treatments,\u201d Shapiro said.<\/p>\n \u201cTrooper Pahira was the very best of us \u2014 Lori and I are praying for the PA State Police family and our local law enforcement partners after losing another one of their own,\u201d Shapiro said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Pennsylvania State trooper was killed by an illegal immigrant trucker who entered the country under the Biden…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":235347,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1243,33588,12906,28,30,29,206,29252,302],"class_list":["post-235346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-crashes","tag-deaths","tag-illegal-immigrants","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news","tag-police","tag-state-troopers","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235346\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}