Posted on 12/04/2023 8:43:41 PM PST by Uncle Miltie
A juvenile boy is dead, and two others were taken into custody by Lakewood police on Dec. 2 after fleeing from police in a stolen Kia Sportage.
At around 10:05 p.m. on Saturday, Lakewood Police Department (LPD) officers were alerted to a stolen Kia Sportage located on Steilacoom Blvd SW near Lakewood Dr. LPD officers said they followed the vehicle without lights or sirens at normal speeds while waiting for additional officers to assist.
The stolen Kia proceeded to approach a locked gate at Lochburn Middle School when an officer turned their lights and sirens on to stop the stolen car, according to the LPD. The Kia continued to drive until it reached the end of a dead-end street on Woodlawn Ave. SW. When the driver stopped at the end of the road, police said numerous people jumped out of the car and fled on foot toward a swampy marsh area.
LPD officers said they were able to recover the stolen Kia while also recovering multiple guns that were dropped on the ground. Police were able to find two of the juveniles who attempted to escape shortly after they fled the vehicle, according to officials. Officers said the two boys were wet, indicating that they were inside the swamp at some point.
As officers continued to search the area, a third person was seen about 40 feet out in the swamp, according to officials. LPD officers attempted to get him to leave the water, but he refused. Officers ultimately went into the water to attempt to assist him out.
Once in the water, officers were not initially able to find the person. However, when they searched the area where he was last seen, they found him submerged in roughly three feet of water, according to officials. Police removed him from the water, and both officers and medics from West Pierce Fire & Rescue began life-saving measures.
The juvenile was taken to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital by fire department officials, but he later died, according to the LPD.
LPD officers continued their search for the fourth and fifth suspects Saturday night and into Sunday morning, but neither were found. During the LPD's follow-up search, another gun was found in the swamp area where the male had been.
The car theft was mostly peaceful.
Yeah, I read the headline as a 2 year old had died.
Glad that was not the case.
The four survivors could, I think, be charged with felony homicide ...
Kias frequently stolen. Doing a
search I found references to “Kia
boys”. An article on the Verge says
“A loose collective of teenage car thieves calling themselves Kia Boys have stolen tens of thousands of Hyundai and Kia vehicles, often posting the results on YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok. But the chaos and destruction left in their wake rarely goes noticed”
arstechnica:
>>During the pandemic, bored and tech-savvy teenagers began posting videos online showing how to steal Kias and Hyundais. Thefts of these cars began increasing dramatically around the country, and soon the social media challenge—where people film themselves doing something (like dumping a bucket of icy water over their head) then post the video online as proof—had caused deadly car crashes, a class-action lawsuit, and even drops in the automakers’ stock prices. Kia and Hyundai both began offering software updates and recalling cars, but the damage was done.
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