Family sues trucking firms over fatal Pennsylvania State Trooper crash

The family of Pennsylvania State Trooper Michael Pahira Jr. has filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit following a fatal July 1 crash on Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, seeks damages exceeding $150,000.

The complaint names truck driver Michael Bon, motor carrier Augustin Freight Services LLC, and freight broker SNK Logistics LLC as defendants. The suit alleges that negligence, reckless disregard for federal safety regulations, and failures in driver supervision and vetting contributed to the accident.

On the morning of the incident, Pahira, 44, was conducting a commercial motor vehicle inspection. While his police vehicle was parked off the roadway with emergency lights activated, a tractor-trailer operated by Augustin Freight Services struck the side of his vehicle. The lawsuit alleges that the driver's emergency lights should have been visible for a significant period before the collision occurred.

This civil action follows a recent ruling by a Magisterial District Judge that Michael Bon should face vehicular homicide and related charges in Schuylkill County Court.