A group of teens in Buffalo, New York, had their young lives tragically cut short after they were ejected from a stolen vehicle they had crashed.
There were six people in the Kia, which was reported stolen on Sunday evening when the Monday morning crash occurred.
Four of the occupants, 19-year-old Marcus Webster, 17-year-old Swazine Swindle, 16-year-old Kevin Payne and 14-year-old Ahjanae Harper, ultimately lost their lives in the car wreck, WGRZ reports.
The youngest deceased victim, Harper, was tragically set to celebrate her 15th birthday on Nov. 1; she was also a mother who leaves behind a young daughter.
The tragedy of the crash on the Scajaquada killed 4 young people. I’m learning more about the victims. The 14 y/o was a mother @WGRZ pic.twitter.com/LDZY6ldAm7
— Claudine Ewing (@ClaudineWgrz) October 25, 2022
In addition to the deceased teens, there was another 14-year-old occupant, though WGRZ reports that she’s in “good condition” and was treated at a local hospital.
Another teen, the 16-year-old driver, also survived the ordeal, though he’s facing charges related to the unauthorized use of a vehicle and criminal possession of the stolen property.
The situation is suspected to be related to the so-called “Kia Challenge” on TikTok.
For the uninitiated, the Kia Challenge is related to people hotwiring certain Kia and Hyundai vehicles to show off on social media (and enjoy a joy ride).
Earlier this year, authorities blamed this reckless TikTok challenge for an uptick in car theft cases across the United States, as Blavity reported.
However, Dr. Yotam Ophir — a communications professor at the University of Buffalo, doubts that the trend has as much impact as authorities allege.
“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,” he told WIVB.
“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,” Ophir continued.
Authorities are reportedly still looking into the situation.
We send our condolences to the teens’ families.
