An Illinois man was surfing a pornographic website, just moments before his tractor-trailer collided with a tar tanker near Lowell — killing a road construction worker.

69-year-old Clark Johnson of Hoopeston, Ill., was charged this week with reckless homicide, two counts of criminal recklessness and three counts of misdemeanor distracted driving.

The crash was on Aug. 25, 2020, on U.S. 41 in Lowell. 63-year-old Martin Knip was killed.

A witness told police he was in a pickup truck behind Knip’s tanker when Johnson’s semitrailer came speeding down a construction zone in their lane. The semitrailer hit the pickup, causing the tanker to roll over.

At the time, Knip was spraying hot tar on the road shoulder.

Johnson told hospital workers he was driving 55 – 65 mph at the time of the crash. Police later found the porn website on Johnson’s cell phone.