The crash that killed a Pennsylvania state trooper has exposed failures at the intersection of highway safety and immigration enforcement.
According to authorities, the accident was caused by an illegal immigrant truck driver who allegedly failed to move over for an emergency vehicle. The driver, a 33-year-old Haitian national, was issued a commercial driver's license by the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, despite not being in the country legally.
State Sen. Doug Mastriano, the architect of Pennsylvania's move-over law, said his legislation was meant to prevent tragedies like this one, many of which have occurred in or near his district. Mastriano's law, which was signed into effect in 2019, requires motorists to move over for tow trucks and other emergency vehicles or slow to a safe speed.
Mastriano said the driver's immigration status made the tragedy doubly preventable and called on Governor Josh Shapiro to update records to ensure that anyone receiving a commercial driver's license is someone who is here legally and understands the language and can control a vehicle.
The incident has raised questions about the federal government's role in enforcing immigration laws and its relationship with state governments. Mastriano suggested that the federal government could use highway funding to encourage states to comply with immigration laws and improve highway safety.
Mastriano also pointed to the federal government's use of highway funding in the 1970s to encourage states to implement the 55-mph speed limit. He argued that resources could be allocated to improve highways based on their linkage between military outposts, such as the Interstate 81 corridor in his district.
In related news, another illegal immigrant was arrested after authorities said he struck and killed a motorist changing a flat tire on Interstate 80 in Illinois. The incident has highlighted the need for greater cooperation between state and federal authorities to prevent such tragedies from occurring.
