The family of a trooper killed during a roadside CMV inspection is filing suit against the illegal immigrant driver, freight broker, and trucking company involved in the incident.
Back in July, 44-year-old Pennsylvania Motor Carrier Enforcement inspector Michael E. Pahira was inspecting the tractor trailer of Walter Reinoso on the side of Interstate 81 in Pennsylvania when it was struck by another tractor trailer driven by Michael Bon.
Bon’s truck caught fire upon impact, and Pahira was left trapped partially beneath the front bumper of Bon’s rig. Bystanders pulled Pahira from the wreckage, but he eventually died of his injuries.
Bon was arrested at the scene and was later placed on an ICE detainer when it was determined he was in the country illegally. Bon is a resident of Haiti who held a Massachusetts CDL.
The lawsuit names Micheal Bon; Augustine Freight Services (AFS), who hired him; and SNK Logistics, the freight broker. The suit alleges that the defendants demonstrated negligence, reckless disregard for federal safety regulations, and failed to vet and supervise drivers, leading to Pahira’s death, reported WNEP 16.
The complaint alleges that, despite having only four drivers, AFS had an OOS rate of 40% in the two years prior to the crash, along with multiple driving and maintenance violations. The suit then alleges that freight broker SNK either knew about or had reasonable access to information on these violations, and chose to hire the company anyway.
“This case highlights systematic safety failures that plague the trucking industry,” said Clancy Boylan of Morgan & Morgan Law Firm, reported Delco Times. “When companies put trucks on our roads, safety is not optional.”
“SNK ignored all that [data] when they placed Augustin Freight Services on the road. And Augustin Freight Services violated their responsibility to put a safe and qualified driver on the road… This is data that was all available to SNK when determining whether or not they should give the load to Augustin Freight Services to haul it. Had they done what they were supposed to do, any reasonable freight broker would never have allowed Augustin Freight Services to haul this load.”
Bon’s attorney says that AFS is refusing to cooperate with them when it comes to the criminal prosecution of Bon, who has been charged with vehicular homicide and involuntary manslaughter. Bon’s defense claims that he suffers from a history of seizures, but the suit states that Bon did not disclose that at any time during the crash investigation. It is not clear if Bon lied about his seizures on paperwork in order to obtain a CDL. Bon is currently being held in Schuylkill County Jail, and required an interpreter at his most recent hearing at the end of August, reported WNEP 16.
