End of Watch: Michael E. Pahira Jr., Pennsylvania State Police

“The man died a hero. He was an outstanding trooper, an excellent motor carrier enforcement officer, and was considered to be one of our best.”

A Massachusetts truck driver is jailed on $700,000 bail after Pennsylvania State Police say his tractor-trailer struck and killed a state trooper conducting a roadside inspection Wednesday morning.

Michael Bon, 33, of Brockton, was arraigned Wednesday night before Magisterial District Judge Christian Lengel on homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, two counts of recklessly endangering another person, and five additional traffic offenses. He remains in Schuylkill County Prison. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 16.

The crash killed Trooper Michael E. Pahira Jr., 44, a 20-year veteran of the Pennsylvania State Police and a Schuylkill County native assigned to Troop L in Frackville as a motor carrier inspector.

State Police say Pahira was standing near the cab of a tractor-trailer he had stopped for inspection on the shoulder of Interstate 81 southbound near Mile Marker 119.3 in Cass Township shortly before 7 a.m. Wednesday. His marked patrol vehicle, emergency lights on, was parked directly behind the truck he was inspecting.

Investigators allege a second tractor-trailer, driven by Bon, left the roadway while traveling southbound and struck the side mirror of Pahira’s patrol vehicle. The truck then collided with the rear of the tractor-trailer Pahira was inspecting, pushing it farther off the shoulder, before striking the trooper himself. Acting State Police Commissioner Lt. Col. George Bivens said the truck was traveling at a high rate of speed when it entered the crash scene.

Both tractor-trailers caught fire in the collision. Pahira was trapped beneath the truck that struck him. Fellow troopers and emergency crews freed him and began life-saving efforts at the scene. He was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Schuylkill, where he never regained consciousness. Schuylkill County Deputy Coroner Andrew Szczyglak pronounced him dead at 11:45 a.m., roughly 90 minutes after the crash.

Bon was also injured and taken to the hospital for treatment. The driver of the truck Pahira had been inspecting was not hurt. State Police have not released details on the extent of Bon’s injuries or said what caused his truck to leave the roadway. The investigation is ongoing.

“The man died a hero,” Bivens said at a news conference Wednesday. “He was an outstanding trooper, an excellent motor carrier enforcement officer, and was considered to be one of our best.”

Pahira enlisted in the Pennsylvania State Police in January 2007 and spent his entire career with Troop L in Frackville. He grew up in the Frackville area and graduated from North Schuylkill High School in 2001, where he was a wrestler. In 2016, Pahira and Trooper Matthew A. Tonitis, both then assigned to the Schuylkill Haven barracks, received the State Police Commendation medal for pulling a man from a burning building.

Gov. Josh Shapiro traveled to the hospital Wednesday and met with Pahira’s parents, Michael and Patti, his sister Jen, and fellow troopers. Shapiro said Pahira had recently moved back in with his parents to help care for his mother as she battles cancer. He described Pahira as a devoted brother, uncle and son who loved cooking, watching documentaries and modifying cars, and who was known for making the people around him laugh.

“He was a good man and he was a good cop,” Shapiro said. “He was taken from us far too soon as he served our community.”

Shapiro ordered United States and Commonwealth flags at all state facilities and public buildings to fly at half-staff until Pahira’s interment. Funeral arrangements had not been announced as of Wednesday evening.

Pahira is the 106th member of the Pennsylvania State Police to die in the line of duty. The crash closed I-81 South near Exit 119 for several hours Wednesday morning while investigators processed the scene, and northbound traffic was reduced to one lane, causing significant delays into the afternoon.