HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Michael Pahira Jr., a nearly 20-year veteran of the force, died Wednesday after being struck by a tractor-trailer while conducting a commercial vehicle inspection along Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County, marking the latest line-of-duty death to hit the agency.
State police said Pahira, assigned to Troop L in Frackville, was conducting a routine commercial vehicle safety inspection on the southbound shoulder of I-81 near mile marker 119 in Cass Township shortly before 7 a.m. on July 1.
According to investigators, Pahira was standing near the driver’s door of the tractor-trailer he had stopped when a second tractor-trailer left the roadway for unknown reasons. The truck struck Pahira’s parked patrol pickup, pushing it into the inspected vehicle before hitting the trooper.
Fellow troopers, emergency responders and medical personnel provided immediate lifesaving efforts before Pahira was transported to Lehigh Valley Hospital Schuylkill. He never regained consciousness and later died from his injuries.
Acting State Police Commissioner George Bivens described Pahira as “a hero” who died while working to keep Pennsylvania’s highways safe.
Gov. Josh Shapiro ordered Commonwealth flags to fly at half-staff in honor of the fallen trooper.
Shapiro said Pahira, known to friends and family as “Mikey,” had dreamed of becoming a police officer since high school. Outside of law enforcement, he was an avid wrestler, a car enthusiast and a talented cook.
The governor also noted that Pahira had recently moved back to the Pottsville area to help care for his mother during her cancer treatments.
The Pennsylvania State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police said the commonwealth had lost “a public servant who put duty above himself and made the ultimate sacrifice while working to keep our highways safe.”
Pennsylvania State Troopers Association President Stephen Polishan called Pahira “the personification of our Call of Honor,” adding that “Trooper Pahira was a hero, and we will spend the rest of our lives making sure he’s never forgotten.”
Pahira was widely regarded within the agency as one of the Pennsylvania State Police’s leading motor carrier enforcement officers.
The circumstances surrounding why the second tractor-trailer left the roadway remain under investigation.
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