A California woman was charged with a felony after officials said she had accessed a website associated with viewing and sharing pornography before she was involved in a crash that killed a person.
On Tuesday, Oct. 20, Christine Chao, 44, was charged with one count of automobile homicide while texting or emailing, a second-degree felony, tied to the deadly crash that occurred in June, according to court documents obtained by USA TODAY.
The crash involving three vehicles happened in Juab County, Utah. A passenger of one of the cars involved was in critical condition when troopers arrived, but was later pronounced dead at the scene.
After the crash, Chao told officers that "she was at fault," according to the court documents. A search warrant was obtained,
and investigators found that Chao used her phone to access XVideos, a website associated with pornographic videos, less than two minutes before the crash occurred.
Jared Rowley, the Juab County Attorney working on the case, declined to comment. It is unclear if Chao has obtained a lawyer.
What happened when the crash occurred?
On June 12, troopers responded to the scene of the crash, where three vehicles had gone off the road due to the collision.
According to court documents, traffic slowed due to construction when Chao is said to have struck one of the vehicles, causing it to crash into the vehicle in front of it. Investigators found no brake marks on the road, which led them to believe Chao did not slow down before the collision.
Chao is expected to make an initial court appearance on Nov. 17, according to court documents.
Julia Gomez is a Trending reporter for USA TODAY and covers space phenomena, scientific studies and natural disasters. Connect with her on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at jgomez@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Woman accused of searching porn site before deadly crash
