Thursday, March 28, 2024

Four Teens Killed in Buffalo Car Crash While Attempting TikTok ‘Kia Challenge’ | VIDEO

*Four teenagers killed in a Buffalo car crash were attempting a TikTok challenge which sees impressionable young people break into Kia and Hyundai cars using cell phone chargers.

The passengers were riding in a stolen Kia when the speeding car crashed Monday morning, ejecting all five passengers, the New York Post reports. According to police, four of the five passengers were killed. They ranged in age from 14 to 17.

The driver was reportedly treated at a hospital and released. A surviving passenger was hospitalized in intensive care.

Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia told reporters Monday that the teenagers may have stolen the car as part of TikTok’s so-called “Kia challenge.” The challenge encourages users on the platform to hotwire Kia and Hyundai cars with a USB cord and a screwdriver. 

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Marcus Webster, 19, Swazine Swindle, 17, Kevin Payne, 16, and Ahjanae Harper, 14, were killed in the crash, WGRZ reports Tuesday. A video shared on Twitter noted that Harper recently welcomed a baby girl.

The 16-year-old driver of the Kia, which was reported stolen Sunday night, was treated at a local hospital for injuries sustained in the crash. The driver has been charged with “unauthorized use of a vehicle and criminal possession of the stolen property,” per the report. 

The lone passenger who survived, a 14-year-old girl, is reportedly in good condition at Erie County Medical Center.

Gramaglia told reporters Monday that there has been a spike in car thefts since the challenge went viral.

“Isolating a specific video that seems detrimental, and assuming that it has a huge impact over people’s behavior, is just unreasonable from an empirical point of view. That’s not how media effects work,” Yotam Ophir, an assistant professor in the University at Buffalo communication department, told WIBV

“Most people don’t know about these challenges, most people don’t care about these challenges, and even if they watch these videos and find them amusing, it doesn’t mean they’re going to walk out and steal a car.

Harper’s family launched a GoFundMe to raise funds for burial costs.

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