Nearby construction workers rushed to a fiery crash scene on Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County Wednesday morning and dragged trapped State Police Trooper Michael Pahira Jr. from beneath a burning tractor-trailer, according to court documents detailing the fatal collision.
In those documents, police detail the chaotic moments following the crash that claimed Pahira’s life and led to the arrest of the driver they say caused it.
Michael Bon, 33, of Brockton, Mass., was arraigned Wednesday evening on charges including felony homicide by vehicle, felony aggravated assault by vehicle, and involuntary manslaughter. Bon is being held at Schuylkill County Prison on $700,000 bail.
Police say Bon drove his tractor-trailer onto the right shoulder of the highway, striking Pahira and the vehicles involved in a commercial vehicle inspection, including the Trooper’s patrol vehicle.
Police say Pahira was conducting a safety inspection at about 7 a.m. on the right shoulder of I-81 southbound near mile marker 119.3 in Butler Township.
Pahira’s marked patrol truck had its emergency lights activated. The Trooper was inspecting a red Freightliner driven by Walter Reinoso of Queens, N.Y. Both vehicles were parked safely off the travel lanes, police say.
Investigators allege that Bon, operating a white 2019 Freightliner hauling clothing, was traveling south on the interstate when he veered off the roadway onto the right shoulder. Bon’s truck struck the driver’s side mirror of Pahira’s vehicle, then hit the rear of Reinoso’s trailer and truck tractor.
At the time of the collision, Pahira was alongside Reinoso’s truck. Police say Bon’s vehicle struck Pahira, pinning him underneath the front bumper of the truck Bon was operating.
Immediately after the crash, a fire ignited that completely engulfed the tractor-trailer driven by Bon, police say.
Reinoso told investigators he was in his driver’s seat applying the brakes at the trooper’s request when the impact occurred. The collision broke Reinoso’s seat and caused him to briefly lose consciousness. A dash camera from Reinoso’s truck, recovered by police, captured Pahira walking in front of the truck just before the crash occurred, police say.
Several construction workers from a nearby job site told police they saw smoke, ran to the scene, and observed Pahira stuck underneath the burning tractor-trailer. They attempted to pull Pahira out.
While they were trying to move Pahira, the construction workers say a man – identified in the investigation as Bon – told them he was on the phone with 9-1-1 dispatchers and to “leave him” or “stay away from the truck” because the trailers were engulfed in flames and tires were exploding from the heat. Another witness, a commercial truck driver who pulled over after witnessing the crash, told police Bon had a head injury and initially attempted to move Pahira from the bumper area before backing away due to the fire.
The construction workers successfully dragged Pahira about 30 yards away from the burning vehicles, police say.
Pahira was rushed to Lehigh Valley Hospital-East in Pottsville, where he was pronounced dead at 11:45 a.m.
In addition to the felony charges, Bon faces two misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person and multiple summary traffic violations, including reckless driving and careless driving resulting in unintentional death.
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