A 44-year-old California woman faces a second-degree felony charge after investigators said her phone accessed a pornography website less than two minutes before a deadly three-vehicle crash on Interstate 15 in Utah.
Christine Chao of Rosemead was charged Oct. 20 with automobile homicide while using a handheld device in connection with the June 12 collision near Levan in Juab County. The crash killed 66-year-old Scott LaVar Lichfield of Fillmore. Chao was issued a summons and is scheduled for her first court appearance Nov. 17 in Utah’s 4th District Court. She is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Traffic had slowed for road work near milepost 209 on northbound I-15 when Chao’s blue SUV struck the rear of a white sedan, charging documents state. That impact pushed the sedan into a black SUV ahead. All three vehicles left the roadway. Chao’s vehicle also hit a fence.
“Officers did not observe any brake marks on the road to indicate the defendant slowed before the crash,”
The documents say. Chao “told officers she was at fault.” The interstate closed temporarily so a medical helicopter could land. Lichfield, a back-seat passenger in the sedan Chao struck, suffered a fatal head injury and died the same day.
Troopers seized Chao’s phone. A search warrant examination “showed that the defendant had accessed the website xvideos.com less than two minutes before the crash occurred. This website is commonly used to view pornographic videos,” according to the charging documents quoted by multiple outlets including Gephardt Daily, KSL, ABC4, and FOX 13.
The reported access does not by itself prove continuous video viewing at the exact moment of impact or establish definitive causation. Prosecutors allege the handheld-device use contributed to the death under Utah’s automobile homicide statute.
Lichfield and his wife Debbie had celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary the day before. Family described him as a devoted husband, father of five, and grandfather known as Papa or Pop Pop. He enjoyed reading to his grandchildren, watching movies, playing chess, and building with Legos. He had served as a Sunday School teacher and Scout leader.
“It is with heavy hearts we announce the passing of our sweet Husband, Dad, Papa (Pop Pop),”
The family wrote in his obituary.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data show 3,208 people died in distraction-affected crashes in 2024, with an estimated 315,167 injured. Any phone use that pulls eyes, hands, or attention from the road raises risk, especially in construction zones where speeds change suddenly.
