COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Columbus woman is struggling to get around town after her Kia was stolen from a business in east Columbus in June. Her rental Kia was almost stolen just last week.
Chanel Jack was starting a new job when her first Kia was taken.
“The first day my car got stolen and for me my heart breaks. I think it was more like heartbreaking than anything,” she said.
Her Kia was found, but after four months, her car was still in the shop and she needed a rental. So she was offered another Kia.
“I told them I have PTSD, I’m not sure if I wanna do this Kia again and they said ‘not to worry, the Kia Boys are calmed down, they’re in school, you’re OK,’” she said.
CrimeTracker 10 has been reporting on the "Kia Boys" since the beginning of the year. The group targets Kias and Hyundais because of how easy it is to steal certain models.
She didn't even have the rental car for a week when somebody attempted to steal it. A feature prevented that from happening, but the windows were busted and the steering console was destroyed.
From January to the end of September 2020, there were 305 Kia and Hyundai models stolen, according to the Columbus Division of Police. In that same time in 2022, 2,845 Kia and Hyundais were taken.
Chanel is now relying on Uber and rides from friends to get around.
“That was my first car off the lot. I was so excited,” she said.
10TV looked at the Columbus Police report for Chanel's first KIA stolen and there have not been any arrests in her case.