SPRINGFIELD, Ohio. The Haitian community in Springfield is mourning the death of Pierre Damas Bel, a 20-year-old Haitian student at Wright State University who died Monday morning after walking into traffic on Interstate 70.
According to his family, Bel may have taken his own life after being placed on an ankle monitor by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The GPS device was placed on his leg in July, following the end of Haiti’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers were called around 8:45 a.m. on August 31 to westbound I-70 near mile marker 66. Bel had stopped his Toyota on the right shoulder, got out of the vehicle and entered the lanes of traffic. He was struck by a tanker truck and died at the scene.
Bel was among Haitian residents in Springfield who were detained or placed under electronic monitoring following changes to their immigration protections. His asylum application remained pending, with a hearing scheduled for October.
Before his death, Bel had shared an Instagram carousel featuring his academic achievements, diploma, soccer team and plans to study neuroscience, as well as a photograph of the GPS monitor on his ankle.
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He wrote that he had come to the United States to study and said he was carrying “a feeling of shame and humiliation that I never imagined I would experience.” He also questioned how he was expected to compete in college athletics while wearing a GPS monitor.
Bel played varsity soccer, was a member of the National Honor Society and participated in the Marine Corps JROTC program.
Members of Springfield’s Haitian community and immigration advocates have also raised concerns about the psychological impact of deportation threats, saying some Haitians have expressed thoughts of self-harm rather than returning to Haiti.
