Woman Charged in Fatal Crash After Watching Porn While Driving — What Sexual Content Does to the Brain
A 44-year-old California woman faces automobile homicide charges after a fatal highway crash in Utah. Police allege Christine Chao caused a fatal crash on Interstate 15 after accessing a pornography website on her phone less than two minutes before the collision.
The crash later claimed the life of a 66-year-old passenger, with phone records showing Chao accessed an adult site less than two minutes before the crash.
Driver Watched Porn Seconds Before Fatal Utah Highway Crash
The fatal crash unfolded on 12 June along an Interstate 15 construction zone where traffic had slowed to a crawl. Chao's blue SUV struck the rear of a white sedan, triggering a violent chain-reaction collision.
'Two vehicles were traveling at a slower speed when a vehicle driven by the defendant struck the rearmost vehicle,' prosecutors stated in charging documents.
The force of the collision pushed the sedan into another SUV ahead of it, sending all three vehicles barreling off the roadway. Scott LaVar Lichfield, 66, sat in the backseat of one car and suffered a fatal head injury.
Reports say Lichfield was airlifted to hospital, where he died from his injuries. In an obituary, his family remembered the finance professional and devoted Sunday school teacher as 'one very loved gentle soul.'
Following the collision, Chao admitted fault to responding Utah Highway Patrol troopers. Investigators found that she had accessed a pornography website less than two minutes before the crash.
What Sexual Content Does to the Brain
The deadly collision shows how sexual activity, like watching porn on a phone, hijacks brain function behind the wheel.
A 2022 study analysing 270 sexually explicit videos depicting sexual activity while driving found that the behaviour was associated with unsafe vehicle control. Researchers noted that sexual activity imposed additional cognitive, physical and visual demands on drivers.
Although the findings highlight the risks of sexual activity behind the wheel, the study did not directly examine the effects of watching pornography on driving performance. Using a phone while driving is itself a distraction that can compromise a driver's ability to monitor traffic and respond to hazards.
Looking down at a screen takes a driver's eyes off the road for five seconds. At 55 miles per hour, that distraction equals driving across an entire football field with your eyes closed.
Sexual content can activate brain networks involved in sexual arousal, motivation and reward. These responses vary between individuals, and research does not establish that viewing pornography automatically impairs judgement.
When viewed on a phone while driving, however, explicit content can distract drivers by diverting their eyes and attention from the road. Such distractions can compromise a driver's ability to monitor traffic and react to hazards.
US Guidelines Warn Against Video-Based Distractions While Driving
The Utah crash closely mirrors an October 2018 fatal collision in Minnesota involving commercial truck driver Tate R. Doom. Authorities charged the 47-year-old with criminal vehicular homicide after his semi-truck plowed through an Interstate 94 work zone.
Prosecutors confirmed that evidence showed he was likely watching pornography when his vehicle struck the victim.
In most states, regulators enforce strict zero-tolerance laws against drivers using mobile phones. Yet distracted driving continues to take a deadly toll across American highways. Federal figures show distracted drivers killed at least 3,208 people and injured more than 315,000 in 2024 alone.