A Minnesota truck driver accused of vehicular homicide was watching porn on his cellphone at the time he killed a highway worker, police said.
Tate Doom, 47, was arrested July 12 for his involvement in a crash last October on I-94 in Rogers that led to the death of 59-year-old Vernon C. Hedquist, of Pillager, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Doom was charged with criminal vehicular homicide and criminal vehicular operation in connection with the crash.
At the time of the tragedy, Doom was driving a semi 72 miles per hour in a construction zone when he rear-ended a pickup truck and trailer merging to the left.
Hedquist was standing on the road shoulder when he was struck by the trailer after it separated from the pickup.
He was found under the wreckage, fatally injured, according to Minneapolis City Pages.
Officials initially suspected that Doom had been distracted while driving, but he told police he hadn’t been on his phone when he hit the pickup, and that he had only been going 50 miles per hour.
However, investigators noted that soon after the crash, Doom had deleted at least 14 video files that had been downloaded from Pornhub.
Analysis of Doom’s phone showed he had been playing one of the porn videos two minutes before the accident.
Despite this, Doom insisted to officers that the last time he’d used either of his two cellphones was at a work-related stop in Big Lake, according to local TV station KSTP TV.
Jail records show Doom was released on July 15 after paying $3,000 bail. He is due in court Aug. 12.
