Cities across the country are suing Kia and Hyundai, will Fort Wayne join in?

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) - Several cities across the country are filing lawsuits against car manufacturers Kia and Hyundai, 21Investigates is wondering if Fort Wayne will join in.

The city of Fort Wayne, it seems, is seeing an increase in the number of car thefts and our 21Investigates team is looking into the numbers. Just this month, 83% more cars were stolen in Fort Wayne last month compared to the same time last year.

In 2023, cities such as Seattle, Baltimore, Cleveland, New York, Chicago, St. Louis, and Columbus have all sued Kia and Hyundai. The lawsuits claim their parent company has been selling cars without proper anti-theft technology.

Indianapolis has also joined in on a national lawsuit against the company.

Car thefts have been on the rise after a Tik Tok challenge went viral showing how you can steal the cars with just a USB. Most of the time, the thieves break the window and take the car on a joy ride then abandon it. This happened in Fort Wayne Sunday resulting in four teens being arrested.

DETAILS: Police pursuit ends with four people arrested

21Investigates reached out to city spokesperson John Perlich to see if Fort Wayne will file a lawsuit given the rise is thefts here. Perlich says that decision would be up to the city’s legal department.

“From a legal perspective, the City of Fort Wayne Law Department will review what’s occurring in other cities as it relates to lawsuits. There’s been no determination at this time locally if that’s something that might be pursued.”

Perlich connected us with an officer at the Fort Wayne Police Department and 21Investigates will be sitting down with her tomorrow to discuss how the department is responding.

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