Reports are speculating over whether a deadly car crash that killed a teenager is linked to a joyriding challenge on social media platform TikTok.
Jess Bradford, Jr., 21, and Michael Wyrick, 16, were killed in a high-speed car chase on Monday (May 8).
The stolen Hyundai they were travelling in hit a fence before smashing into a tree, police have stated. The impact when the car collided with the tree was so huge the roof was ripped off the vehicle, and debris was strewn around the crash scene.
According to reports, police are investigating whether the deaths occurred when the suspects were participating in a viral dare. It is understood users have shared videos online demonstrating how to steal certain models of Kia and Hyundai cars using a USB stick instead of a key.
‘Crazy’
Reports claim the suspects may have been part of a group that stole TWO vehicles in California, taking police on a high-speed chase. However, officers have reportedly indicated the chase had been called off before the fatal smash in Peterson Park in Lodi.
The other vehicle, said to be a Kia, is believed to still be missing. The car’s owner told CBS: “Like all my stuff, I’m just like… I have no idea where it is. It’s crazy.”
Gannon Shumer, a local resident, claimed his parked car was damaged by one of the stolen cars during the chase. He said he he was astonished by events. He said: “I’m still kind of mind blown by how it even happened and how this happened, how he got all the way out there.”
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A separate crash in which four people died has also been linked to the alleged trend. That October 2022 incident involved a stolen Kia carrying six teenagers in Buffalo, New York state.
Police commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said at the time: This is a terrible, terrible outcome for such young kids. They had their entire lives in front of them.”
A TikTok spokesperson told ED!: “Content that promotes or enables criminal activity, including theft, is against our Community Guidelines and will be removed from the platform.”
Read more: Boy, 13, dies from Benadryl TikTok challenge as his dad makes plea
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