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A San Bernardino County couple was arrested Wednesday and charged with intentionally causing car crashes that were posted on a YouTube channel.
The suspects were identified as Christopher Phelps, 40, and his wife, Kimberly Phelps, 40, both of Yucaipa, according to the California Department of Insurance.
The pair are accused of causing car crashes in an attempt to collect fraudulent insurance payments, authorities said.
According to authorities, a YouTube channel with the name “BLU3 GHO57” allegedly contained dashcam videos of crashes and road rage incidents involving Christopher.
The channel had around 162 videos of “vehicle collisions, attempted collisions or near-collisions, road rage incidents and other content related to the couple,” officials said.
In several incidents, the couple’s son was also present in the vehicle, according to arrest documents.
Investigators discovered that around 23 collisions documented in the channel were linked to 17 insurance claims filed by Christopher. Forty-two other videos were related to incidents of road rage and attempted collisions with Christopher, officials said.
“Several of the videos appeared to be intentional acts,” officials said.
Christopher was arrested in early February for his alleged involvement in a suspicious collision. A video posted to his YouTube account showed Christopher “appearing to stop for no apparent reason and causing a truck to pull a trailer to the rear of his vehicle,” authorities said. The video was a rear-facing dash cam showing the moments leading up to the collision.
Detectives responded to the scene of the crash in Yucaipa and canvassed the area for surveillance video and witnesses that led to Christopher’s arrest, authorities said. After posting bail, he was released.
Christopher was charged with six counts of assault with a deadly weapon, 11 counts of insurance fraud and five counts of child endangerment.
Kimberly was charged with two counts of felony child endangerment and one count of felony insurance fraud.
Christopher was previously charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon and felony causing a collision with a vehicle for the purpose of filing a false claim for his arrest in February.
Both suspects are being held on $500,000 bond. The case remains under investigation. The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case.
Any additional victims or witnesses are asked to contact Detective Matthew Carter at 909-919-2215 or email matthew.carter@insurance.ca.gov.
