Four teens killed in car crash, NY cops say. TikTok trend may have led to their deaths

Alison Cutler
·2 min read
2

A disturbing TikTok trend may have played a role in the death of four teens in New York, police say.

Six teenagers crashed in Buffalo, New York around 6:30 a.m. on Oct 24, according to WIVB. The car they were driving was a Kia that was registered as stolen, the outlet reported.

All five passengers were ejected from the vehicle in the crash and four, ranging from ages 14 to 17, were killed, The Associated Press reported. The fifth passenger was taken to a hospital and the 16-year-old driver was treated and released, according to the outlet.

It was the type of car that made police suspicious of the circumstances surrounding the crash, police told news outlets.

The teens may have been participating in the “Kia Challenge,” a trend on social media and particularly TikTok that shows people how to break into certain models of Kias using a USB drive, Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia told AP.

“I don’t have the exact model, but it’s a Kia,” Gramaglia said, WIVB reported. “I know Kias are widely publicized … the ‘Kia Challenge,’ as it’s called. They are very easy, unfortunately, to steal.”

The driver involved in the crash faces charges of criminal possession of stolen property and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, AP reported.

Increases in Kia and Hyundai thefts have been rampant across the country following the spread of the Kia Challenge on TikTok, McClatchy News previously reported.

Several Kia and Hyundai owners have filed a lawsuit against the companies and argued that the vehicles are “too easy to steal,” according to McClatchy News.

“In order to assist customers with earlier model year vehicles without an immobilizer, Hyundai has been working with and will continue to support local police departments to make steering wheel locks available for affected Hyundai owners,” Hyundai told McClatchy News in a previous statement regarding the thefts. “Additionally, Hyundai has identified a Firstech/Compustar security kit that targets the method of entry thieves are using to access these vehicles.”

“That effort will continue in close coordination with local police departments for distribution to concerned owners of Kia vehicles not originally equipped with an immobilizer,” Kia told KTLA in a statement.

Police did not publicly release the names of the teens killed in the crash.

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