A preliminary hearing has been delayed for the Massachusetts truck driver who veered off Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County on July 1, killing state trooper Michael E. Pahira Jr.

The hearing now scheduled for 9 a.m. Aug. 26, will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to send charges of vehicular homicide and other crimes against Michael Bon, 33, of Brockton Mass.

The original hearing date was 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

No reason was given for the delay.

Bon has retained Attorney John J. Waldron, Allentown, as his defense counsel.

In addition to homicide, State Police at Hamburg also charged Bon with aggravated assault by vehicle, recklessly endangering another person, involuntary manslaughter, reckless driving, careless driving - unintentional death, duty of drivers in relation in relation to emergency response area, driving on roadways lanes for traffic - prohibitions against changing lanes, and obedience to traffic control device, for disregarding Pahira’s marked pickup’s flashing emergency lights.

Bon was arraigned before District Judge Christian Lengel, Tremont, and jailed in Schuylkill County prison under $700,000 bail.

The Department of Homeland Security has placed a detainer on Bon.

According to published reports, U.S. Customs and Border Protection admitted Bon into the United States as a parolee on July 2, 2024 at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Florida.

In October, he applied for Temporary Protected Status, but was denied. The federal government notified him on June 13, 2025, that his parole was terminated.

However, Bon refused to leave, and moved to Brockton, Mass.

There, he was issued a commercial driver’s license that was set to expire the day of the crash.

Massachusetts allows undocumented residents to obtain standard driver’s licenses under the Work and Family Mobility Act. However, a non-domiciled commercial driver’s license or commercial learner’s permit is strictly prohibited for individuals unlawfully in the U.S., governed by strict Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rules.

It is not clear how he obtained the CDL license.

A photo of the license released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency shows the expiration date as July 1, 2026. The non-domiciled, limited term license was issued on June 11, 2025.

According to court documents, the morning of the crash, Bon was driving a tractor-trailer south at about 7 a.m. at a high rate of speed when his truck veered off the road, hitting Trooper Pahira as he stood next to another tractor trailer that was pulled off the highway near Exit 119 for a brake inspection.

Despite the heroic efforts of three construction workers who were working nearby and rushed to the scene and pulled Pahira from under the cab of the burning rig, the trooper died without regaining consciousness a few hours later.