A Massachusetts truck driver faces homicide by vehicle and other charges in connection with Wednesday's death of a Pennsylvania state trooper on Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County.
Michael Bon, 33, of Brockton, was arrested following the crash that killed Trooper Michael Pahira in Butler Township as he was inspecting a tractor-trailer on the right shoulder of the interstate at about 7 a.m.
State Police said Bon was driving a 2019 Freightliner tractor-trailer with Florida license plates that veered off the roadway, striking the side mirror of Pahira's parked Ford F-350 before striking the rear of the tractor-trailer that Bon was inspecting.
Pahira was pinned beneath the front bumper of the truck Bon was driving, which immediately burst into flames, according to an affidavit.
The affidavit says witnesses who spoke to investigators described pulling Pahira out from under the burning tractor-trailer and about 30 yards away from the crash scene.
“His injuries were very severe. He never regained consciousness,” Acting State Police Commissioner George L. Bivens said during a press conference Wednesday.
In addition to the homicide charge, court records show Bon also faces charges of aggravated assault by vehicle, recklessly endangering another person, involuntary manslaughter, reckless driving, careless driving — unintentional death, duty of driver in relation to emergency response area and prohibitions against changing lanes.
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