BUFFALO, N.Y. — Kia is responding to the crash on the 33 on Monday morning that killed four teens.
Buffalo Police believe the teens were participating in the so-called Kia challenge on social media that shows people how to steal vehicles easily without a key.
In the statement, Kia America said it joined the Buffalo community in mourning the tragic crash involving six teens and said the crash was apparently the result of a theft of a Kia Sportage on Sunday night.
The car company added that "such criminal conduct endangers our local communities and violates the property rights of the vehicle owner. The Buffalo PD has not yet released all pertinent details from its investigation that will allow us to connect this particular instance with this larger societal trend."
Kia also says it is working with local law enforcement by providing free steering wheel locks to concerned owners of steel key-operated Kia vehicles. Kia reached out to the Buffalo Police Department about distributing the wheel locks. A Buffalo Police spokesperson tells 2 On Your Side that the department will not be distributing the wheel locks to Kia owners. The department believes this would be better executed by the car manufacturer.
Meanwhile, here's some of what the police commissioner said earlier this week about the crash.
"There are numerous cities across the country that are looking at, looking into, or have filed lawsuits against Kia because of the ease that they are able to steal these cars. We have seen, began to see a sharp increase in a number of Kias locally that have been stolen," Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said.
Kia is also telling people to contact their customer assistance center at 1-800-333-4542 if they have any questions.
The 16-year-old driver and another teen survived the crash. The driver is already facing charges and is back in court Friday morning.