Truck crash kills Pennsylvania state trooper; driver held on immigration and licensing questions

A commercial truck struck and killed a Pennsylvania state trooper on Interstate 81 during a commercial-vehicle inspection south of Frackville. The driver, a 33-year-old Haitian national identified in federal records as Michael Bon, was arrested after the collision.

The driver entered the United States under a federal parole program, according to the Department of Homeland Security. He had been issued a commercial driver’s license by Massachusetts authorities and was living in Brockton, Massachusetts, at the time of the incident.

Highway safety and licensing rules State Sen.

Doug Mastriano said the crash highlighted gaps in both highway safety enforcement and federal immigration screening. He noted that Pennsylvania’s move-over law, enacted in 2019, requires drivers to change lanes or slow down when approaching emergency or service vehicles.

Mastriano said the driver did not comply with that requirement. He also said states can verify immigration status through the federal SAVE database when issuing commercial licenses.

State responses and database checks Pennsylvania and Massachusetts officials said they rely on the federal SAVE database to confirm lawful presence before issuing commercial licenses. Both states defended their procedures after the crash. Mastriano called for stricter state-level checks and suggested federal highway funding could be used to encourage uniform standards.

He also proposed directing additional federal resources to Interstate 81 because of its military installations. A second incident involving an unlicensed driver occurred on Interstate 80 in Illinois after the Pennsylvania crash, according to reports.