YouTubers charged with child endangerment after crashing cars for content
Unsplash: MichaelJinPhotoYouTubers Christopher and Kimberly Phelps have been charged with child endangerment and insurance fraud after intentionally causing car accidents that they would record and upload to their channel.
When it comes to YouTube, some of the most popular content on the platform involves videos that feed into a viewer’s morbid curiosity. Like the dash cam view of a car accident, for example.
Christopher and Kimberly Phelps did just that, as they uploaded 162 videos of car crashes and road rage incidents that helped them gain popularity on their channel: BLU3 GHO57.
But now, the couple has been charged with insurance fraud and child endangerment after allegedly causing the accidents themselves for insurance money.
YouTubers allegedly caused accidents for YouTube clicks
The San Bernardino, California Sherriff’s Department somehow became aware of the channel and forwarded the information to the state’s department of insurance.
According to a press release, the California Department of Insurance found that 23 of the couple’s videos were linked to 17 insurance claims filed by Christopher as well as 42 videos related to road rage incidents and attempted collisions involving him.
It also states that in February 2023, Christopher was involved in a “suspicious collision” and posted a YouTube video shortly after showing the events leading up to it. He was arrested after an investigation but was released on bail.
Since then, Christopher Phelps has been charged with six felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon, 11 felony counts of insurance fraud, and five felony counts of child endangerment.
His wife, Kimberly Phelps, was charged with two counts of felony child endangerment and one count of felony insurance fraud.
The couple was arrested on March 22, 2023, and is being held in separate detention centers. Both are being held on $500,000 bail.
At the time of writing, it appears that their YouTube account has been deleted. For more news and other entertainment stories, check out our coverage.