A commercial truck driver charged in the death of a is the latest in a string of illegal immigrant truck drivers accused in deadly crashes, a series of cases that have intensified scrutiny of commercial driver’s licenses issued to noncitizens and prompted a federal trucking crackdown.
Authorities allege Michael Bon, a Haitian national living in Brockton, Massachusetts, left Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County on July 1 and struck a marked Pennsylvania State Police patrol vehicle during a roadside commercial vehicle inspection before hitting Pennsylvania State Trooper Michael E. Pahira Jr., 44.
Bon’s semi-truck and the truck being inspected both caught fire, and Pahira later died at a local hospital. Bon was charged with homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, reckless driving and six additional lesser charges.
Fox News Digital previously reported Bon entered the U.S. under the Biden administration’s humanitarian parole program in July 2024. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) terminated his parole and ordered him removed in June 2025 after denying his application for Temporary Protected Status, but he remained in the country.
While living in Massachusetts, Bon obtained a non-domiciled commercial driver’s license that was renewed before the Trump administration barred states from issuing or renewing those licenses for ineligible drivers.
The Pennsylvania crash is part of a string of fatal crashes Fox News Digital has reported on involving illegal immigrant commercial truck drivers.
The crashes have claimed the lives of a Pennsylvania state trooper, a college soccer player, a longtime high school basketball coach and his wife, members of an Amish community and other motorists while prompting calls for stricter oversight of commercial driver’s licenses issued to noncitizen truck drivers.
In July 2025, investigators alleged Harjinder Singh attempted an illegal U-turn on Florida’s Turnpike, triggering a fatal crash that killed three people. Florida authorities later charged Singh with three counts of vehicular homicide, and the case became a catalyst for several Trump administration trucking policy changes.
Two of the victims were identified as Clarence Nelson, 76, an assistant basketball coach at Pomona High School, and his wife, Lisa Nelson, 69, according to the San Bernardino County Coroner’s Office.
The Florida Attorney General’s Office later learned Singh failed the commercial driver’s license knowledge exam 10 times and the air brakes knowledge exam twice before Washington state issued him a CDL. A senior official at the attorney general’s office said the Washington trucking company that trained Singh also certified he could speak English despite his struggles communicating proficiently, and California later issued him another CDL.
Body camer
