Patricia Pahira filed the federal wrongful-death and survival lawsuit Wednesday, Sept. 2, individually and as administrator of her son’s estate. The complaint names driver Michael Bon, Augustin Freight Services LLC, and SNK Logistics LLC as defendants.
Pahira, 44, was conducting a commercial vehicle safety inspection on I-81 South in Schuylkill County around 7 a.m. Wednesday, July 1, as Daily Voice previously reported.
His marked state police Ford F-350 and the tractor-trailer he was inspecting were fully off the roadway, and the patrol vehicle’s emergency lights had been on during the approximately 40-minute inspection, according to the complaint.
The suit alleges Bon, who was hauling a load brokered by SNK Logistics, left the right lane, crossed the fog line, struck the patrol vehicle’s side mirror, and then slammed into the rear of the inspected tractor-trailer.
Pahira was hit and trapped beneath Bon’s burning Freightliner cab, the complaint says. Two bystanders pulled the trooper from the wreckage after explosions, according to the filing. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The complaint alleges the activated emergency lights would have been visible to Bon for at least 49 seconds and from as far as 1.1 to 1.2 miles away.
Bon, of Brockton, Massachusetts, has been charged with homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment, and traffic offenses in connection with Pahira’s death. He has not entered a plea in the criminal case.
Pahira’s family alleges Bon had THC in his system after the crash, was fatigued, and was not qualified or adequately trained to operate the commercial vehicle. The suit further alleges Bon’s attorney said he may have suffered a seizure before leaving the lane, despite Bon answering “no” to a question about seizures or epilepsy on a required medical-examination form.
Those are allegations in the civil complaint, which seeks damages exceeding $150,000 and a jury trial.
The suit also accuses Augustin Freight Services and SNK Logistics of negligent and reckless hiring, supervision, retention, and selection.
According to the complaint, Augustin Freight Services had only four drivers but accumulated a 40% vehicle out-of-service rate in the two years before the crash, nearly twice the national average. It allegedly also had 82 unsafe-driving violation points and 144 maintenance violation points in just over a year, including violations involving speeding, cell phone use, lane restrictions, log falsification, and vehicle maintenance.
The filing alleges that information was publicly available through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Safety Management System and should have warned SNK Logistics against selecting Augustin Freight Services to haul the load.
Pahira, an Ashland native and 2001 North Schuylkill High School graduate, joined Pennsylvania State Police in 2007 and served with Troop L in Frackville as a motor carrier enforcement inspector. He was the 106th Pennsylvania state trooper to die in the line of duty.
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