Woman Accused of Causing Fatal Car Crash While Watching Adult Videos on Her Phone

According to a report from CBS affiliate KUTV, Christine Chao was charged with a second-degree felony of text messaging or email automobile homicide this week for an incident that happened on June 12 in Juab County, Utah.

The report noted that, on that day, traffic had slowed down significantly due to nearby construction. Chao struck the rearmost vehicle in the line of traffic, causing a chain reaction that forced three cars off the road, including Chao’s.

Scott LaVar Lichfield was in the rearmost car that Chao struck. He was taken to the hospital with critical injuries but died shortly after.

KUTV reported that Chao stated at the time that the accident was her fault. An investigation of the scene showed no skid marks on the road to indicate that she had attempted to slow down her vehicle before the crash.

When her phone was seized by investigators following the execution of a search warrant, they learned that she had accessed an adult video website less than two minutes before the crash happened. It’s unclear why or if the video content caused her to be distracted her at the time of the accident.

No plea has been made public at this time and Globe was unable to contact Chao for comment.