CASS TWP., Pa. — A Massachusetts man faces homicide by vehicle charges following a catastrophic, fiery crash on Interstate 81 Wednesday morning that claimed the life of a veteran Pennsylvania State Trooper.
According to state police, 33-year-old Michael Bon, of Brockton, Massachusetts, has been formally charged with homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault by vehicle, reckless endangerment, and related offenses. He was arraigned late Wednesday, and bail was set at $700,000.
The fatal incident occurred just before 7:00 a.m. in the southbound lanes of I-81 near mile marker 119 in Cass Township, Schuylkill County. Investigators state that Trooper Michael Pahira Jr., 44, a 20-year veteran of the force, was conducting a routine commercial vehicle safety inspection on a semi-truck along the shoulder of the highway.
While Trooper Pahira was standing near the cab of the stopped truck, a second tractor-trailer, driven by Bon, drifted off the roadway. Bon's truck slammed into the rear of Pahira's parked patrol unit, pushing it into the truck under inspection before striking the trooper directly. Both commercial vehicles erupted into flames upon impact.
Emergency responders and fellow troopers pulled Pahira from beneath the burning wreckage, but he never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead at Lehigh Valley Hospital–Schuylkill a short time later.
In response to the tragedy, Governor Josh Shapiro ordered all United States and Commonwealth flags on state facilities and public grounds across Pennsylvania to be lowered to half-staff immediately in honor of Trooper Pahira’s ultimate sacrifice.
