Kia Smashes Into Tree During Police Chase

Photo: The Star Tribune / MNDOT

Kia vehicles have been stolen by the thousands over the past few years. A security defect with the automaker’s traditional metal key ignition system has allowed an epidemic of car thefts across the United States. A recent police chase in Minnesota involved an allegedly stolen Kia and ended when the Korean SUV slammed into a tree, sending the vehicle’s juvenile occupants to the hospital with injuries.

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The Star Tribune reported that Eden Prairie police officers spotted the two vehicles speeding eastbound on Highway 212, a Toyota Camry and a black Kia SUV. The pursuit started when Eden Prairie police asked Carver County sheriff’s deputies to assist them. The chase would eventually reach Highway 62. Traffic camera footage from the Minnesota Department of Transportation shows the two cars weaving through traffic as they fled the police.

The Minnesota State Police threw stop strips in front of the two fleeing cars. The Camry would swerve around the strip, but the Kia would drive right over it. The SUV veered off the road, across an on-ramp, through a fence and into a tree. The Kia’s driver-side door took the brunt of the impact. The four teenagers inside the SUV were taken to the hospital for evaluation and then arrested.

The Toyota Camry involved in the chase escaped, but police believe both vehicles were stolen. It’s not been disclosed what charges the four teenagers will face. Earlier this summer, there was another chase in Minnesota that involved six teenagers in a KIA that hit another car and crashed into a bus shelter, leaving two bystanders injured.