Ohio Truck Driver Who Backed Trump Reconsiders After Fatal Crash With Haitian Immigrant

Jack Buhring, a truck driver from Ohio who voted for President Donald Trump for the first time in 2024, is rethinking his political allegiance after his truck struck and killed a 20-year-old Haitian immigrant who had recently lost his legal status. The collision occurred on August 31 near Springfield, Ohio, when Pierre Damas Bel jumped in front of Buhring's truck, according to a report in The Atlantic.

Bel had been granted Temporary Protected Status because of instability in Haiti, but he was among thousands of legal immigrants who lost that protection after the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to end TPS for Haitians. Buhring, who described the administration as a «joke» in an interview, said he does not view Democrats more favorably either. «I feel really bad for the family,» Buhring told the outlet. «I just don't want to take the chance for the safety of my family. I mean, he jumped out in front of me. But I still killed their son.» He added, «I feel guilty.»

Buhring said Bel made eye contact with him before the impact. «I felt a big thump, and I knew it was him,» he said. «I could feel it all.» Since the incident, Buhring has tried to learn as much as possible about Bel and has stayed in contact with a first responder who helped him out of his truck after the crash.

The death set off a firestorm in Springfield, where much of the Haitian community went into hiding in early September, according to the report. Families arranged for food deliveries and attended church services online. Haitian activists said some people had spoken of suicide as an alternative to deportation. At vigils for Bel, attendees included his high-school teachers, soccer coaches and teammates, waiters from a local Texas Roadhouse, and neighbors. One man told a crowd that Bel's death was «a failing of broader policy, but I will always bear the guilt that there is more that I could have done and we could have done.»

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, an immigration attorney, called the report «searing» in a post on X. «I feel very sorry for Mr. Buhring, who became an unintentional victim of Trump's hate campaign against the Haitians in Springfield,» he wrote. «The tragedy of what Trump is doing to the Haitians who had safety here keeps growing worse.»

The incident has intensified an already heated immigration debate in Ohio, where the Trump administration's decision to end TPS for Haitians has upended lives and divided communities. For Buhring, the personal toll has been profound, leaving him caught between his past support for the president and the consequences of a policy that led to a young man's death.

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Connor Quincy

Technology Reporter

Connor Quincy covers public affairs, politics, business, culture and daily news for Core Memo. The role focuses on verification, context, and clear explanations for readers.

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