BUFFALO, N.Y. — Four teens are dead and one is recovering following a car crash on Monday.
The one-vehicle crash occurred around 6:45 a.m. on Route 33 west near Route 198. On Monday, Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia held a press conference and said there were a total of six people inside the vehicle. Four were killed, another was hospitalized and the driver was in custody. Police said the vehicle was stolen and it is believed excessive speed played a significant factor in the crash.
Following Monday morning's deadly crash, police say the driver, a 16-year-old male who has now been charged for the crash, behind the wheel was not the vehicle's owner. The stolen car was a Kia Sportage.
Gramaglia says this points to a larger problem we're seeing in Western New York and nationwide.
"We have seen - began to see a sharp increase in a number Kias locally that have been stolen," he said.
Gramaglia told 7 News' Kristen Mirand that since the beginning of 2020, car thefts have sky rocketed in Buffalo and Erie County. He also said car thefts are up 90 percent compared to this time last year.
| Year | Hyundai | Kia | Total |
| 2020 YTD | 46 | 40 | 86 |
| 2021 YTD | 78 | 58 | 136 |
| 2022 YTD | 76 | 177 | 253 |
Gramaglia said police believe the stolen Kia involved in the crash may have been motivated by a social media challenge.
"I know Kia's are widely publicized. The 'Kia Challenge' as it's called. They are very easy unfortunately to steal," he said.
The viral challenge can be found on TikTok, showing how to steal Kias and Hyundais in a matter of second. Over at Ziebert in Hamburg, Ian Meyer said there are ways to protect yourself.
"We do offer remote starts with an alarm system attached. One of our options even has like GPS positioning, everything like that," he said.
Meyer said older Kia and Hyundai models are being targeted because of the turn-to-start ignition which is why it is so easy to be don with something as simple as a USB cord.
"The USB mimics the shape of the key and everything like that once you put it in the ignition, so they're able to use that just turn it on just like a normal key would be able to," Meyer said.
Meyer said this could be a good option to help prevent this from happening to you.
"It's not gonna act as a straight up deterrent for the theft or anything like that but it gives you a little extra peace of mind," he said.
Gramaglia also said car thefts are 100% preventable. He recommends that people do not leave their cars unattended while running and that they don't leave their keys in the car.
7 News' Kristen Mirand did reach out to TikTok for comment regarding the dangerous and illegal challenge, but have not heard back.
