The city of Syracuse is joining a lawsuit against the manufacturers of Hyundai and Kia cars that are stolen at an alarming rate in the city.
Mayor Ben Walsh said Syracuse is a little late to the game, with other cities already filing a lawsuit, but that’s because the problem hasn’t been bad until this year, when thefts of these cars shot up 65%.
The lawsuit asks for Kia and Hyundai to solve the problem, create an automobile theft prevention fund, and pay damages to the city.
"There is a real cost to the City of Syracuse and other municipalities from their negligence," Walsh said. "Again, for every officer that we have trying to chase down a stolen vehicle, that's an officer that could otherwise be addressing violent crime, addressing quality of life crime in a neighborhood. It has been a significant financial drain on the city of Syracuse, and therefore we are looking for damages from the manufacturer.”
Walsh said the city is working out the final numbers for damages, but he expects it to be substantial. It’s been a few years since a viral TikTok video showed how to steal Kias and Hyundais with just a USB cable. Rochester and Buffalo are among the cities that have joined the suit.
Stolen Hyundais and Kias were involved in the shooting death of a Syracuse teen by an Onondaga County Sheriff's Deputy earlier this year, and this week, three teenage girls were shot in a stolen Hyundai.
