A woman allegedly looked up pornography on her phone less than two minutes before a three-vehicle crash that killed a man in Utah, U.S..
Christine Chao, 44, from California, was charged on Oct. 20 with automobile homicide, a second-degree felony, KSL reported.
The crash occurred on June 12, 2026, on the northbound Interstate 15, where traffic had slowed because of ongoing construction.
According to charge documents cited by KSL, Chao allegedly drove into the back of a slower-moving vehicle, causing it to crash into another vehicle in front.
“Officers did not observe any brake marks on the road to indicate the defendant slowed before the crash,” the documents stated.
Photo via Utah Highway Patrol/KSL
Scott LaVar Lichfield, 66, was seated in the back of one of the vehicles. He suffered a head injury and later died, according to the Utah Highway Patrol.
Chao allegedly admitted to officers that she was at fault, the charge documents stated.
Investigators seized her phone and obtained a warrant to examine it.
The examination allegedly showed that she had accessed pornography website "XVideos" less than two minutes before the collision, KSL reported.
Victim a devoted father and grandfather
Lichfield had celebrated his 39th wedding anniversary with his wife just a day before the crash, according to his obituary.
He is survived by his wife and five children.
Lichfield's family remembered him as a devoted father and grandfather who enjoyed reading, watching films, playing chess and building Lego with his grandchildren.
Photo via Scott LaVar Lichfield's Obituary
https://mothership.sg/2026/10/us-woman-44-allegedly-looks-up-porn-on-her-phone-while-driving-causes-3-vehicle-crash-man-66-dies/
A strong earthquake struck Tibet in southwestern China on Thursday night, killing at least 16 people and injuring 32 others, Chinese state media reported.
Hundreds of homes in the remote Himalayan region collapsed due to the magnitude 7.0 quake, Xinhua reported.
The earthquake is the strongest to hit the region in the past five years, broadcaster CCTV said, and the most powerful to hit China since January 2024.
How severe was the earthquake in Tibet?
At least 339 residential buildings have collapsed, local government officials said, according to state media. Twenty livestock sheds were also destroyed.
Of the dozens injured, 11 were in a serious condition, the local media office said.
Disaster relief efforts were ongoing as officials assess the scale of the damage, the state news agency added.
Xinhua reported that power and communication lines to the area were also disrupted.
What do we know about the area where the earthquake struck?
The earthquake's epicenter is around 190 kilometers (120 miles) northeast of Nagqu, a city around 300 kilometers north of the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, the US Geological Survey said.
The mountainous area is sparsely populated.
The quake struck at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers. Shallow earthquakes (up to 70 kilometers deep) are considered more dangerous and destructive.
How often do earthquakes hit China?
Earthquakes are relatively common in China.
In January 2025, a quake near Mount Everest in Tibet's Tingri region killed at least 126 people.
In 2010, at least 2,698 people were killed when a magnitude 7.1 quake hit Qinghai province, which neighbors Tibet.
https://www.dw.com/en/tibet-earthquake-kills-at-least-16-people-injures-dozens-state-media/a-79738117