LAUREL, Md. — After her car was stolen from her Laurel apartment complex, reportedly with a USB cord, one mother is calling on the car manufacturer to figure out a way to prevent this from happening to someone else.
Ariel Suydan said her 2016 Kia is her only source of transportation and she can’t believe it was so simple for thieves to steal.
“Anything that was for my child, they took it all -- like look at my trunk,” Ariel Suydan said while looking at her stolen car.
She's another victim of a Kia being stolen, and when she got her car back, it was trashed.
On Tuesday, police reports showed her Black Kia was stolen from her Laurel home. It was found Sunday along the 2500 Block of South Dakota Ave in Northeast, D.C.
“I got a call from DC Police last night stating that my car was in a street race," Suydan said. "They crashed my car and the suspects immediately jumped out the car and got into another car and sped off and found out my tags that was supposed to be on the car, is not on the car and they've been using paper tags."
DC Police said the alleged thieves bolted from the car. The person who lives in the home near that address said they crashed into her fence. Tow truck drivers said the car was still in the driveway when they came to tow it away.
“With everything going on as far as inflation with rent, you know, struggles to get your child back and forth, Christmas is coming up-- and as a single, Black mom ... this is the last thing [I] need,” Suydan said.
A simple USB cord found in the car is what was reportedly used as a key. When a WUSA9 reporter tried to start the car with just the cord to recreate the scenario, it worked. Police said the alleged thieves also ditched the car's license plates.
It’s not known if the people connected to this theft are teens or adult, but Suydan said detectives told her they may have been young. She’s calling on parents to take responsibility.
“A mother knows when their child is up to no good," Suydan said. "Parents, when are you going to see your child's not up to no good and step up?”
Suydan also believes Kia as a manufacturer needs to be held liable, and figure out a way to make older car models safe from this type of theft.
“When is Kia going to take accountability?" she asked. "When is Kia gonna stop responding saying, 'Well for the 2022 cars, we're going to do this.' Those are not the cars being affected baby -- it's our cars."
Kia America told WUSA9 in a statement that the company is "concerned with the rise in vehicle thefts" in the DC region.
"Kia America continues to work closely with local law enforcement in affected areas to provide steering wheel lock devices at no cost to concerned owners of steel key operated Kia vehicles not originally equipped with an immobilizer," a Kia statement said.
The company added it is developing and testing software updates to "further secure these targeted vehicles."
Police are reminding people to always double-check to make sure their car doors are locked and all of their valuable belongings are out of the car.
If you have a Kia and are concerned, Kia's Consumer Assistance can be reached at 1-800-333-4542.