Fatal car accident claims four lives while attempting Tik Tok challenge, 4 teens killed

A young mother was one of the four youths who perished in a car wreck in Buffalo while trying a TikTok challenge that encouraged auto theft. Marcus Webster, 19, Swazine Swindle, 17, Kevin Payne, 16, and Ahjanae Harper, 14, perished when the stolen Kia they were traveling in crashed on Monday, throwing them and one other passenger out. This was confirmed by WGRZ reporter Claudine Ewing on Tuesday. The 16-year-old driver was treated and later released from the hospital, and the 14-year-old fifth passenger is currently listed as being in good condition at Erie County Medical Center. A local claims in a video posted on Twitter that Harper just had a baby girl. “She was a young mother,” the man remembers. “She definitely spent a lot of time with her daughter.” On November 1st, Harper was expected to celebrate her 15th birthday. On Tuesday, her family started a $15,000 GoFundMe in her honor. Nashira Anderson, Swindle's sister, told WIBV that the adolescent was well-known for his silly demeanor and enjoyed playing basketball. Webster, on the other hand, is reported to have been a hard worker who balanced work and study. The Kia's driver has subsequently been charged with criminal possession of stolen property and unauthorized use of a vehicle after it was reported stolen Sunday night. In November, he will be in court once more. In an attempt to accomplish the "Kia challenge," a TikTok fad that teaches viewers how to hot-wire Kias and Hyundais, the youngsters are thought to have totaled the vehicle. According to Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia, since the challenge went viral, there has been an increase in car thefts. Experts are still dubious, though, about the likelihood that a random person will take up a dare posted online. “Isolating a specific video that seems detrimental, and assuming that it has a huge impact over people’s behavior, is just unreasonable from an empirical point of view. That’s not how media effects work,” Yotam Ophir, an assistant professor in the University at Buffalo communication department, told WIBV. “Most people don’t know about these challenges, most people don’t care about these challenges, and even if they watch these videos and find them amusing, it doesn’t mean they’re going to walk out and steal a car.”