Kia Addresses Viral TikTok Challenge After Fatal Crash In Buffalo, NY
There was a nasty crash early on Monday morning in Buffalo that killed 4 teens and shut the road down for hours. Now Kia has made a statement about it.
TikTok challenges have proven to be dangerous and even deadly. One of the most recent involves kids hotwiring and stealing Kia vehicles and then driving dangerously with them.
They literally call it the Kia challenge and it shows people how to hot wire and steal certain Kia and Hyundai cars with a USB cord and a screwdriver. It's something that Buffalo Police think might have been the reason for a firey crash that happened on Monday morning that killed 4 teens who were in a stolen Kia on the 33.
Today, Kia issued a statement saying that they are joining our community in mourning the loss of the four teens. They also acknowledged that they are aware of the TikTok challenge:
"Kia is aware of the recent trend amongst our youth- encouraged by social media- that target certain Kia cars with a steel key and 'turn-to-start' ignition systems. In many cases, the vehicles are stolen solely for the purpose of operating in a reckless and dangerous manner. Such criminal conduct endangers our local communities and violates property rights of the vehicle owner." - statement by Kia
They mention that it's only happening in "steel-key and turn-to-start ignition system" vehicles and are pledging to partner with law enforcement to do what they can to stop it from happening in the future. They will be offering steering wheel locks to concerned owners of vehicles with those types of ignitions.
If you own one of these vehicles, they're encouraging you to call 1-800-333-4542 with any questions.