A new TikTok challenge is suspected to be linked to the deaths of four teenagers killed in a recent car crash in Buffalo, the New York Post reports.
The four casualties and one survivor -- who was reported to be hospitalized in intensive care -- were traveling in a Kia stolen the night before when the vehicle crashed and ejected all five teens on Monday (October 24).
The teens are suspected to have gotten the idea to steal the car from "the Kia challenge" on TikTok, which suggests followers break into vehicles produced by Kia and its parent company, Hyundai, with phone chargers, Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said during a press briefing on Monday via the Post.
The TikTok trend shows viewers how to hotwire the vehicles by using a USB cord and screwdriver and challenges them to do the same.
Police departments nationwide have reported a spike in the thefts of Kia and Hyundai cars since the trend became popular over the summer.
A class-action lawsuit was filed in Orange County, California last month accusing Kias from 2011 and 2021 and Hyundais from 2015 to 2021 of being produced without an anti-theft machinery engine called engine immobilizers, which makes the two vehicle brands prone to easier break-ins and thefts.