Pennsylvania State Trooper Michael E. Pahira Jr., killed on July 1 when a truck driver slammed into him on I-81 in Schuylkill County, will be remembered for his courage, selflessness and wit.

Two elected officials from Schuylkill County hope that one day he’ll also be remembered by signs at Exit 119 on that highway.

State Sen. David G. Argall, R-29, and has teamed up with state Rep. Tim Twardzik, R-123rd, to propose a bill naming Exit 119 of I-81 the PSP Trooper Michael E. Pahira Jr. Memorial Interchange.

Trooper Pahira, 44, who served 20 years, was standing next to a tractor trailer he had pulled over near Exit 119 for a brake inspection at about 7 a.m. when a rig driven by Michael Bon, 33, of Brockton, Mass., veered off the highway, hitting the side mirror of Pahira’s inspection pickup, its emergency lights flashing.

The impact pushed the pickup into the stopped truck. The rig then slammed into Pahira as he stood talking to the driver and continued on, trapping him under the front bumper. It burst into flames.

Three nearby construction workers rushed to the scene and, defying the flames and danger of explosion, didn’t stop until they had freed Pahira and dragged him away.

Trooper Pahira was taken to the closest hospital, but efforts to save his life were unsuccessful.

Bon, a Haitian immigrant who refused to leave the country after the federal program he was admitted under was stopped, was charged with vehicular homicide and other crimes.

Bon’s commercial license, granted in Massachusetts, expired the day of the crash.

He remains in Schuylkill County Prison under $700,000 bail. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has placed a detainer on him.