A 44-year-old California woman has been charged with automobile homicide after Utah prosecutors say she was looking at a pornography website on her phone less than two minutes before she slammed into slowed construction traffic on Interstate 15, triggering a three-vehicle pileup that killed a 66-year-old Fillmore man. Christine Chao, of Rosemead, California, was charged on Tuesday in Utah's 4th District Court in Juab County, more than four months after the June 12 crash near Levan.
Charging documents reviewed by KSL.com identify Chao as the Rosemead resident now facing a second-degree felony in connection with the wreck. The crash happened on northbound I-15 near Levan in rural Juab County, where ongoing highway construction had slowed traffic, according to the station's report. Chao's SUV struck the rearmost of three vehicles, causing a chain-reaction collision that sent all three cars off the roadway, per charging documents cited in the same report.
Court documents obtained in the case say a search warrant served on Chao's phone showed she had accessed the adult streaming site xvideos.com less than two minutes before the impact. Responding officers reported they found no brake marks on the roadway, and Chao reportedly told officers at the scene that she was at fault.
A Grandfather Killed the Day After His Anniversary
Scott LaVar Lichfield, 66, was riding in the backseat of one of the vehicles struck in the chain reaction and suffered a fatal head injury. The Fillmore resident had celebrated his 39th wedding anniversary with his wife just the day before the crash, the same KSL.com report notes.
Lichfield was remembered as a loving husband and grandfather. His obituary described him as a loved, gentle soul who served as a Sunday school teacher and worked in finance, and who also held roles as a nursery leader, elders quorum teacher, scout leader, and financial clerk in three different wards.
What Utah Law Says About Automobile Homicide
A version of Utah Code § 76-5-207 marked superseded January 1, 2026, states a five-to-15-year term for the relevant second-degree felony provision, according to the statute published by the Utah State Legislature. The statute describes one route involving negligence and specified impairment, and another involving criminal negligence and a measurable controlled substance, as discussed by Intermountain Legal.
Separately, Utah Code § 41-6a-1716 bars drivers from using handheld wireless devices to manually browse the internet or view video content behind the wheel, with exceptions for voice communication, viewing navigation, medical emergencies, reporting hazards or crimes, and operating integrated or hands-free technology, according to a breakdown published by McMullin Injury Law.
A Statewide Surge in Distraction-Related Deaths
The Levan crash lands amid a years-long climb in distracted-driving fatalities across Utah. Data from the Utah Department of Public Safety shows the share of statewide traffic deaths tied to distraction rose from 1.3% in 2007 to more than 8% in 2024, a year that recorded 23 distracted-driving deaths, according to TownLift.
The Utah Highway Safety Office has logged 25,532 distracted-driving crashes between 2020 and 2024, resulting in 9,291 injury crashes and 88 fatal crashes, per state figures compiled by Latch Compliance. More recently, statewide crash reports show Utah recorded 5,189 distraction-related crashes in 2025 alone, causing 11 deaths and 166 serious injuries, according to the AVS Law Group.
In response to the rising toll, Utah law enforcement agencies launched a statewide enforcement campaign in April 2026 that uses spotters in unmarked vehicles to identify drivers using mobile devices and alert nearby patrol units to make stops, the same TownLift report notes. The Levan case is now working its way through Juab County's court system.
