SPRINGFIELD, OH – The death of a Haitian college studentfrom Springfield remains under investigation, with his supporters continuing to say he died by suicide.
Since he died Aug. 31, hit by a semi-trailer truck on Interstate 70 east of Springfield, Pierre Damas Bel has become a flashpoint in the nation's continuing debate over immigration enforcement.
Immigration advocates say the 20-year-old Wright State University freshman was a victim of Trump administration policies, forced to wear an ankle bracelet after the government stripped about 350,000 Haitians in the United States of temporary protected status.
His family says Bel took his own life after being shamed over the ankle monitor.
The government, via a statement from U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, said it would not speculate about Bel's cause of death with an investigation still pending.
Here's what's known and still to learn about Bel and his death, from interviews, press releases, press conferences and statements.
Who was Pierre Damas Bel?
Pierre Bel came to the United States in 2023 or 2024 through the temporary protected status program for Haitians.
In Springfield, he joined his father, mother and two brothers, who'd arrived from Haiti about three years earlier.
Bel was an honors student at Springfield High School, where he played varsity soccer and participated in the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps.
He was planning to major in neuroscience and physiology at Dayton's Wright State, where fall classes resumed Aug. 24. He was set to try out for soccer this week.
He was working at a Texas Roadhouse restaurant and aiming for medical school.
What did Bel say about his ankle monitor?
Bel was active on Instagram.
After a July 29 check-in meeting with ICE, he wrote about being forced to wear the monitor on his account.
"I came to this country to pursue my education. I didn't come here to commit a crime or hurt anyone," he said. "Yet now I'm walking through the streets of the United States with a GPS monitor on my leg, carrying a feeling of shame and humiliation."
How, he asked, was he supposed to play college sports with a monitor on his leg?
What happened on Aug. 31?
Bel died around 8:45 a.m. on I-70, near Clark County's Harmony Township, according to a press release from the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
He parked his Toyota Avalon on the interstate's right shoulder, exited the car and "entered the westbound lanes of Interstate 70," the press release said.
He was then struck by a Kenworth tractor-trailer traveling west and died at the scene, the release said. The interstate was closed for about three hours after that.
The state patrol is continuing its investigation into the incident, a spokesperson said Sept. 2.
The Clark County coroner's office likewise said it had nothing to report about Bel's death.
What did Bel's family say about his death?
Pierre Ronal Bel, 40, issued a statement following his son's death.
The elder Bel said his son pleaded with ICE officials, twice, to remove the ankle monitor. He was bullied over the device, with classmates "telling him he's a criminal," the statement said.
In J-ROTC, he was denied a uniform "because of the bracelet," the father said.
The father said he spoke to his son just after 8 on the morning of his death, saying he was not feeling OK.
At 11 a.m., "police showed up at my door to report that my son had thrown himself under a truck."
What did the driver of the truck say?
Jack Harry Buhring of Chillicothe, who was driving the truck that hit Bel, called 911 from the scene, according to the Springfield News-Sun.
"He jumped right out in front of me," Buhring told the dispatcher, according to News-Sun coverage. "Oh, my God. I killed him."
Buhring said Bel "jumped right out in front of my semi."
The Enquirer has requested but not yet received a copy of the 911 audio.
Was Bel's death a suicide?
Immigrant advocates in Springfield have mentioned suicide as Bel's cause of death in their statements.
Carl Ruby, a local pastor and leading voice for Haitians in Springfield, repeated the elder Bel's account of the death on Facebook.
"I’m sitting with a family right now whose son threw himself in front of semi truck today after being teased by fellow students at Wright State about his ankle monitor," Ruby's post read. "I wish President Trump could hear the mom’s wails.
"The family wants people to know that this was a suicide and they want people to know that President Trump, Stephen Miller and Markwayne Mullin’s inhumane immigration policies made this happen."
Ruby reiterated the family's position during a press conference Sept. 1, when asked about the elder Bel's statement to a Haitian news outlet.
"I want to see the video, because I don't believe he would kill himself like that," Bel said, according to the Haitian Times.
Ruby said the family wants proof of suicide to highlight the harm of ankle monitors.
What has Wright State said about Bel's death?
The university said it had "no confirmed information regarding complaints or investigations of bullying related to the student."
What have Ohio leaders said?
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called the Bel family and has made at least two public statements about his death.
On Sept. 2, he said Bel's death was a "waste of someone who could have contributed a lot to our country, to our community." A day earlier, the governor called his death a "horrible tragedy."
"We could use him in this country. He'd be value-added. He'd contribute something," DeWine said.
The Ohio Senate Democratic Caucus also called Bel's death a tragedy, saying it was "a direct result of this administration’s inhumane and racist immigration policies."
"So far, the president’s mass deportation approach has yielded no benefits, socially or economically," the lawmakers said in a statement.
What has ICE said about Bel?
In addition to saying it would not speculate about the cause of Bel's death, ICE's statement repeated the agency stance that immigrants without legal status in the United States should self-deport.
"No one is required to stay in the United States illegally and wear a monitor," its statement said. "Remaining in the country illegally, while fighting removal, is achoice. Leaving with a free flight home and $3,000 is also a choice."
ICE also said it would continue to "use detention or alternatives to detention as needed (on) those illegal aliens who stay in violation of the law."
Why is ICE focusing on Springfield?
ICE made Springfield a target after Donald Trump and JD Vance, while campaigning for president and vice president in 2024, repeated false rumors that Haitiansin Springfield were stealing and eating pets.
ICE agents returned this summer with the end of protected status for Haitians in the United States.
Since then, ICE has detained about 30 Haitians from Springfield in the Butler County Jail and required about 100 to wear ankle bracelets.
In response, religious leaders last week launched an "Unshackle Springfield" campaign with about 400 people joining a march through the city's downtown last weekend.
On Sept. 2, a Springfield man acting as a volunteer observer of ICE agents sued seven of them, alleging a pattern of harassment.
Also on Sept. 2, supporters staged a vigil in downtown Columbus for Bel, with Wright State students working on one as well.
Help is available for persons considering suicide. Call or text 988 to connect with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Support is also available via live chat at 988lifeline.org.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: What we know about the death of Haitian college student in Springfield
