Following a recent crash that claimed the life of a Pennsylvania state trooper, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association told Congress that they need to pass Dalilah’s Law now.
Dalilah’s Law, or HR5688, refers to Dalilah Coleman, who was 5 years old when she was severely injured in a crash involving a tractor-trailer driven by Partap Singh. The truck driver was later arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Coleman was a guest at the State of the Union address in February.
The bill introduced by Rep. David Rouzer, R-N.C., aims to ensure that CDL holders are properly trained and meet safety standards, including proficiency in English. Non-domiciled CDL holders are often unable to be vetted, whereas U.S. applicants have the past 10 years of their driving history reviewed.
Fatal crash in Pennsylvania
Trooper Michael E. Pahira Jr., 44, was conducting a commercial motor vehicle inspection along Interstate 81 on July 1 when a second commercial motor vehicle reportedly left the roadway and struck the patrol unit’s side mirror. According to the Pennsylvania State Police, the second truck then impacted the rear of the commercial motor vehicle that was being inspected.
Pahira was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Michael Bon, who was operating the second commercial motor vehicle, was arrested by Pennsylvania State Police on July 1 and charged with homicide by vehicle. The following day, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged an immigration detainer against Bon.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Bon is a 33-year-old “illegal alien” from Haiti who received a CDL in Massachusetts.
DHS said that Bon entered the U.S. as a parolee in July 2024, but that his application for temporary protected status was never granted. According to DHS, Bon was issued a Notice of Termination of Parole in June 2025, but Bon “refused to leave the country.”
A spokesperson for the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles told Land Line that, according to the federal database, Bon was eligible to have his non-domiciled CDL this past February but wouldn’t have been eligible for renewal in 2027.
OOIDA letter
In a letter sent on July 15 to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., OOIDA said that the fatal crash is a “devastating reminder” that the current CDL system lacks the safeguards needed to keep unqualified and unvetted drivers off the road.
“Had this legislation been previously signed into law, the driver responsible for Trooper Pahira’s death would not have been eligible to receive a CDL in the first place,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer wrote.
In August 2025, OOIDA asked the U.S. Department of Transportation to suspend states’ authority to issue non-domiciled CDLs. This past March, a rule that will remove nearly 200,000 non-domiciled CDL holders from the freight market took effect.
Although the regulation is in effect, a future administration could decide to kickstart the non-domiciled CDL system. That’s why OOIDA says Congress must pass Dalilah’s Law to make the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s non-domiciled CDL rule permanent.
“This legislation would codify FMCSA’s final rule and help prevent future tragedies such as a recent crash in Pennsylvania that cost a state trooper his life,” Spencer wrote.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed HR5688 by a vote of 35-26 in March. However, the House has not yet brought Dalilah’s Law to the floor for a vote.
“We respectfully ask that you bring Dalilah’s Law to the floor for a vote without further delay,” Spencer wrote. “The safety of America’s truckers, law enforcement officers and the motoring public should not be a partisan issue, and it should not wait any longer.” LL
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