Dangerous accident involving teenagers, stolen car in Westwood under investigation
Crash renews the focus on certain Hyundai and Kia models susceptible to being swiped
The mangled front end of two vehicles marked what appears to have been a head-on collision that happened just after 9pm on Monday night on Glenmore Avenue in Westwood. Police said the teenagers stole a white Hyundai Elantra and took it for a ride before crashing into a Jeep. Renegade “Obviously, if people are stealing cars and driving them around and potentially crashing them into things, that’s bad news,” said a WLWT colleague named Wolfie. Wolfie’s 2013 Hyundai Elantra has been stolen twice. It happened first in August and last week it happened again. On both occasions, the thieves took his wheels for joy rides. “I’m sure that’s what the police seem to be saying. It’s, like, kids from other neighborhoods, and they come in, and then. they just walk down the street and find cars and run away,” Wolfie said. For owners of certain Hyundai and Kia vehicles, the problem has become chronic. This is because bad actors have discovered that they can remove the steering column in some cases and bypass security safeguards. These are lessons learned by watching videos posted online. “The police officer showed me when I took my car this time, how, how easy it is. It’s just, when you break it, there’s a piece, and you can just take that piece and then turn the car around, and it starts without the key or anything or a fob or anything,” Wolfie said. After his car was taken last week, Wolfie got a steering wheel lock. He admits he has to remember to use it to stop forking over cash to fix damage caused by car thieves. “If I’m parked downtown or if I’m parked in front of my house, like, no I don’t know if I can, you know, risk another $600 that I have to drop because somebody decided to steal my car,” he said. to fix any security issues. So far, the sister companies have launched a customer service campaign. But many affected car owners have struggled to understand exactly what the campaign is about.
The smashed front ends of two vehicles marked what appears to be a head-on collision that happened just after 9pm on Monday on Glenmore Avenue in Westwood.
Police said the teenagers stole a white Hyundai Elantra and took it for a ride before crashing into a Jeep Renegade.
“Obviously, if people are stealing cars and driving them around and potentially crashing them into things, that’s bad news,” said a WLWT colleague named Wolfie.
Wolfie’s 2013 Hyundai Elantra has been stolen twice. It happened first in August and last week it happened again. On both occasions, the thieves took his wheels for joy rides.
“I’m sure that’s what the police seem to be saying. It’s, like, kids from other neighborhoods, and they come in, and then they walk down the street and they find cars and they run away,” Wolfie said.
For owners of certain Hyundai and Kia vehicles, the problem has become chronic. This is because bad actors have discovered that they can remove the steering column in some cases and bypass security safeguards. These are lessons learned by watching videos posted online.
“The police officer showed me when I got my car this time, like, how easy it is. When you start it, there’s a piece, and you can just grab that piece and then start the car. and it starts without the key or nothing or a fob or nothing,” Wolfie said.
After his car was taken last week, Wolfie locked the steering wheel. He admits he has to remember to use it to stop forking over cash to fix damage caused by car thieves.
“If I’m parked downtown, or if I’m parked in front of my house, like, I don’t know if I can, you know, risk another $600 that I have to drop because somebody decided to steal my car,” he said .
Last month, a coalition of 17 attorneys general asked Hyundai and Kia to issue a recall to address any safety concerns.
So far, the sister companies have launched a customer service campaign. But many affected car owners have struggled to understand exactly what the campaign is about.
