A car crash that killed four teenagers in New York, may be linked to a TikTok car-theft challenge.
A total of six teenagers were in a Kia that had been reported stolen and crashed in Buffalo on Monday morning.
Four of them, ranging in age from 14 to 17, were killed. The fifth passenger is in intensive care and the 16-year-old driver was treated in hospital and discharged.
It has now emerged they may have been taking part in the so-called “Kia Challenge”.
First seen in the summer on social media, mainly TikTok, the posts show how to hot wire Kia and Hyundai cars with a USB cord and a screwdriver.
In St Petersburg, Florida, police said that more than a third of all car thefts there since mid-July are linked to the challenge. Los Angeles officials say the viral trend has led to 85% more thefts of Hyundais and Kias than last year.
On Monday, the Buffalo Police commissioner Joseph Gramaglia told reporters he believed the teenagers in the fatal crash may have been participating in the challenge.
Sky News has contacted TikTok for a comment.
