The Pennsylvania State Trooper stationed in Schuylkill County who was killed in the line of duty Wednesday morning has been identified as Tpr. Michael Pahira.
Gov. Josh Shapiro made the announcement after visiting Lehigh Valley Hospital – East in Pottsville Wednesday.
“Early this morning, Pennsylvania lost one of its finest public servants,” Shapiro said. “He was a good man and he was a good cop and he was taken from us far too soon as he served our community.”
Pahira was a Class of 2001 North Schuylkill High School graduate.
Pahira was a 20-year veteran with the State Police. A member of PSP’s Motor Vehicle Enforcement team, stationed at the Frackville barracks, Pahira was conducting a roadside inspection of a commercial vehicle along Interstate 81-South near Mile Marker 119 in Cass Township at about 7 a.m. Wednesday when he was struck by another passing commercial vehicle.
That commercial vehicle then crashed into the vehicle Pahira was inspecting and caught fire. Pahira was rushed to the hospital, where he succumbed to the injuries he suffered in the highway incident.
Shapiro has ordered flags across Pennsylvania to be flown at half-staff to honor Pahira.
“Mike was a devoted brother. Mike was a devoted uncle. And Mike was a devoted son,” Shapiro said after meeting with Pahira’s family and friends, including his parents, Patti and Mike, and his sister, Jen.
Shapiro noted Pahira had a love of modifying vehicles, cooking, and watching documentaries.
Pahira, according to the Governor, recently moved back in with his parents to help care for his mother who is battling cancer. Shapiro said in the last few days, Pahira had just helped his mother shave her head as she undergoes cancer treatments.
“He was a loving son. He was kind and gentle,” Shapiro said.
A procession of Schuylkill County first responders led Pahira away from the hospital in Pottsville, passing under large American flags hung between extended ladders of firetrucks across Route 61. Flags were flying above the highway in Pottsville and Schuylkill Haven along the route.
State Trooper Killed in Schuylkill County Wednesday Identified as Michael Pahira
Nearby Construction Workers Pulled Fallen Trooper Pahira from Fire, Court Records Show
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