July 27th—Mark Shafer
Ironton Tribune
The Kia Boys Tik Tok trend has spread to Ironton after a group of Greenup County teenagers broke into several cars, stole one and drove recklessly, crashing into a truck.
The Kia Boys originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where police noticed a spike in thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles in 2021. Police had no clue until a video surfaced of teenagers driving stolen cars and nearly hitting pedestrians. The video was tagged “Kia Boys” or “Kia Boyz.” This video sparked a worldwide “Kia Challenge,” where people would steal Kias and film themselves, garnering attention online.
“This trend has finally made its way here,” said Ironton Police Detective Brian Pauley, noting that he was alerted to the trend locally by a colleague at the Chillicothe Police Department who was working the Kearboy case. “What they’re doing is stealing these cars, leading the police on a chase, eventually crashing the car and then fleeing on foot.”
Pauley said that’s what happened recently.
The incident began around 11:30 a.m. July 20 in Ironton, when a 2015 Kia Forte was reported stolen.
Around 3 a.m. Monday, Ironton Police were called to the intersection of Diederich Boulevard and Red Devil Lane in Flatwoods, Kentucky, in reference to a vehicle that had collided with a large tractor-trailer and gone missing.
Bellefonte Police officers spotted the vehicle in Bellefonte and observed it run a stop sign, enter Russell at a high rate of speed and run a red light.
According to a police report, an officer attempted to stop a vehicle traveling at 75 mph, but as the driver attempted to turn from Diederich Boulevard onto Red Devil Lane, the vehicle struck the left side of a large trailer truck in the intersection.
The driver and front seat passenger jumped out of the Kia and ran into the surrounding woods.
Two other passengers, ages 16 and 15, were found in the back seat of the Kia and complained of minor injuries.
An ambulance was called to the scene and both boys had to call their parents to come to the scene.
A short time later, Ironton police were notified by Flatwoods police that the driver and passenger, ages 16 and 17, had been identified and found at the home.
The driver is facing charges in Kentucky of criminal damage to property, fleeing or evading police, receiving stolen property over $10,000, running a stop sign, running a red light and leaving the scene of an accident (failure to render aid or assistance).
The four boys were residents of Flatwoods and Ashland. Their names are not being released because they are all minors.
The reason the Kia Boys target these particular cars is because certain Kia and Hyundai models, especially those manufactured between 2011 and 2021, don’t have immobilizers, a security device that prevents the car from starting without a key. The thieves use a screwdriver to pick the ignition lock and then use a USB cord to start the car.
“Those are the cars that car thieves are targeting right now, especially the younger kids,” Pauley said. “All of the reports we’ve received have been of Kias and a couple of Hyundais.”
Pauly has some simple safety tips for anyone worried about their car being stolen.
“You can go buy what used to be called a club, a lock that you put on your steering wheel,” he says, “and never put anything valuable in your car, not even your wallet or your debit cards. Don’t put anything valuable in your car right now.”
