A California driver has been charged in Utah over a fatal three-vehicle crash on Interstate 15, in a case prosecutors say turned on what investigators found on her phone.

Christine Chao, 44, of Rosemead, California, was charged on Tuesday, October 20, in Utah's 4th District Court with automobile homicide, a second-degree felony, KSL reported, citing charging documents. FOX 13 Utah reported the charge involves the use of a handheld device, that her first court appearance is scheduled for November 17, and that a summons was issued rather than an arrest warrant.

The crash happened on June 12 on northbound I-15 near Levan, near milepost 209, where traffic had slowed in a construction zone, according to the Utah Highway Patrol account in the charging documents. Two vehicles were travelling at a slower speed when a vehicle driven by Chao struck the rearmost vehicle, causing it to crash into the vehicle ahead of it, the documents state. Officers did not observe any brake marks on the road to indicate Chao slowed before the crash, and all three vehicles went off the roadway.

A back-seat passenger in one of the struck vehicles, Scott LaVar Lichfield, 66, of Fillmore, suffered a head injury and later died, the Utah Highway Patrol said. According to his obituary, cited by KSL, Lichfield had celebrated his 39th wedding anniversary with his wife the day before the crash and is survived by five children.

Charging documents say Chao told officers she was at fault. Investigators seized her phone and obtained a warrant to search it. An examination under that warrant allegedly showed the phone had accessed the website xvideos.com less than two minutes before the crash occurred, the documents state. That is an allegation in a criminal charge, not a finding of guilt: Chao has not been convicted, and the court must determine whether the evidence satisfies the elements of the offence.

For Punjabi and other diaspora readers who drive long highway stretches for work - including truckers on corridors such as I-15 and I-5 - the case is a stark reminder in charging documents of how a few seconds of phone use in a construction zone can become a felony case. Sources: KSL (charging documents, October 20), FOX 13 Utah, ABC4 via news reports.