Pierre Damas Bel, a Haitian college student who had only recently arrived at Wright State University, died Monday after his father said he walked into traffic on Interstate 70.
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.
Bel had been a college student for just a few days when his life ended.
The 20-year-old from Haiti had begun his first semester at Wright State University, where he was studying neuroscience and taking his first steps toward building a future in the United States.
According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Bel was killed Monday in Clark County, Ohio, after he got out of his vehicle and entered the westbound lanes of Interstate 70, where he was struck by a tractor-trailer.
To the people who knew him, he was much more than the circumstances surrounding his death.
He was an honors student who loved soccer, a proud R.O.T.C. cadet pursuing a medical degree and a member of the Haitian community determined to build a life in America.
To Yola Lamarre, he was like family.
“I considered him as a little brother,” Lamarre told 10TV on Tuesday. “I told him that you’re like my little brother, and I will do everything to protect you.”
Lamarre first connected with Bel through TikTok in July after he responded to one of her videos about navigating the immigration system. She said they began talking regularly and developed a close relationship.
She said Bel told her he had turned himself in to immigration authorities, was working and was trying to pursue asylum.
“He clearly wasn’t avoiding accountability,” Lamarre said. “If he did, he wouldn’t have went to the ICE check-in in the first place.”
A young man with plans
Bel arrived in the U.S. in 2024 and eventually moved to Springfield, Ohio because he wanted to play soccer, his family said.
He graduated from Springfield High School in the spring with honors and had been working at Texas Roadhouse while preparing for college.
Wright State said Bel began classes last week as a first-time student. The university described him as an active honors student who was passionate about soccer.
“He was already actively engaged in his classes and the campus community,” Wright State President Sue Edwards said in a statement. “We are heartbroken by this devastating loss.”
Bel had plans beyond the classroom, too. Before choosing Wright State, he had been recruited to play soccer at Wittenberg University.
Wittenberg men’s soccer coach Dwight Burgess said the university was excited about the prospect of Bel joining the team and becoming part of the campus community.
“Pierre was a bright young man we recruited to Wittenberg University and our men’s soccer program,” Burgess said in a statement. “We were excited to have him on our team and to watch him learn and grow as a member of the larger Wittenberg community.”
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Wittenberg said it will hold a moment of silence in Bel’s honor before its season opener Tuesday night.
Bel also regularly posted on social media about his pride in coming to the U.S. from Haiti and his hopes for the future.
In a recent post, he wrote about the anguish he said the ankle monitor caused him, saying he came to the country to pursue his education and questioning how he could play college sports while wearing it.
The ankle monitor
Bel’s family and friends said the last month of his life was marked by growing distress after Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed him on an electronic ankle monitor.
ICE confirmed Bel was placed on the monitor July 29 while he continued his immigration proceedings.
Lamarre said Bel told her the monitor was painful and interfered with soccer, one of the things he loved most.
“He couldn’t practice,” she said. “He wanted people to see the reality of how someone who was following the rules was handicapped and paralyzed by living life.”
Bel’s family also described the embarrassment he felt at school and said he was subject to bullying.
His father, Pierre Ronal Bel, said Bel also made trips to Cincinnati and Westerville in an effort to have the monitor removed.
His final conversations
His father said his son called him Monday morning.
“Dad, I’m not feeling OK. I’m not thinking right … because of the bullies,” Bel told him, according to his father’s statement.
His father told him to come home so they could talk.
Before that could happen, police arrived at the family’s home and told him Bel had died after entering traffic and being struck by a truck, according to the statement.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating the circumstances surrounding Bel’s death.
His family and supporters believe the bullying and the experience of wearing the ankle monitor contributed to his death.
ICE said it would not speculate on unverified claims about the circumstances of Bel’s death while the investigation is ongoing.
For Lamarre, the details of Bel’s final days cannot erase the person she knew.
She remembers a young man with aspirations who was trying to establish himself, continue his education and play the sport he loved.
“He was someone that deserves to be dignified,” Lamarre said.