The family of a Pennsylvania state trooper killed in a crash involving an illegal immigrant trucker is suing the driver, his employer, and the freight broker that hired the trucking company.
Patricia Pahira filed the federal lawsuit individually and as administrator of the estate of her son, Pennsylvania State Trooper Michael Pahira Jr., 44. The suit names Haitian national Michael Bon, Augustin Freight Services, and SNK Logistics as defendants, according to ABC 27.
The six-count complaint seeks more than $150,000 in wrongful death, survival, and punitive damages. It claims that negligence and reckless disregard for federal safety regulations contributed to Pahira’s death. The allegations have not been proven in court.
Bon allegedly struck and killed Pahira on the morning of July 1 while the trooper was inspecting a commercial vehicle on the shoulder of Interstate 81 in Cass Township.
The lawsuit claims Bon chose to drive the truck while tired and that Augustin Freight Services knew or should have known he lacked the qualifications, training, and experience to drive it safely.
The family also accuses SNK Logistics of failing to vet Augustin Freight Services before hiring the company, which had a poor safety record, with only four drivers, 82 unsafe driving violation points in just over a year, and 144 maintenance violation points in just over a year, according to ABC 27.
Pennsylvania State Police
The Haitian man allegedly struck Pahira before dragging him beneath the truck “for quite some distance down the road” as the vehicle caught fire, Lieutenant Colonel George Bivens previously told reporters.
Pahira, a 20-year state police veteran, had just moved back in with his parents to care for his mother as she battled cancer.
The Biden administration released Bon into the United States in July 2024 under its signature humanitarian parole program that allowed certain migrants to fly directly into the country to bypass the border, according to Fox News.
At one point, Bon applied for Temporary Protected Status, but was denied the deportation shield, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Bon lost his immigration parole status in June 2025 and was ordered to leave the United States, but never left.
In March 2025, the Haitian national obtained a Massachusetts commercial driver’s license, which was renewed in February 2026, before the Trump administration instructed states to stop issuing or renewing non-domiciled licenses for drivers who no longer met federal eligibility requirements, Fox News reported.
Bon is being held on $700,000 bail in the Schuylkill County Prison. He faces charges including homicide by vehicle and involuntary manslaughter. The criminal case remains pending.
The Trump administration has sought to prevent illegal immigrants from getting behind the wheels of trucks following a string of catastrophic collisions.
As part of the crackdown, federal authorities recently shut down 110 commercial trucking schools that were associated with more than 5,000 drivers who failed English-language proficiency tests, some of them illegal immigrants.
“You have to speak English to operate a commercial motor vehicle,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said during a press conference Monday while announcing the latest action. “I didn’t create that rule, President Trump didn’t create that rule; that rule has been in place for decades. We have schools that know the rule and still pass people through their school who can’t speak the language.”
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