A woman in Northeast D.C. is completely fed up after her 2020 Kia Sportage was stolen this week.
It marked the second time her SUV was stolen this year and the third time that someone has broken into it.
“You feel really helpless,” explained Emmi Tewksbury-Volpe. “It’s really disheartening, and you feel angry that you’re not really being heard and there’s nobody really to turn to.”
There has been a surge in vehicle thefts nationwide involving 2011-2022 models of Hyundai and Kia vehicles.
The vehicles are not equipped with immobilizing anti-theft devices, which has allowed thieves to easily steal them using household supplies. Immobilizers are meant to prevent a vehicle from starting when someone tries to use a key or key fob that doesn’t match the car.
Kia has offered to help people who own the vehicles by offering anti-theft measures, including software updates and steering wheel locks.
That didn’t help Tewksbury-Volpe, however, as her vehicle had the latest software updates and a steering wheel lock on it when it was stolen Tuesday night.
“People know that it’s happening, but I don’t think they realize the extent to which it’s happening,” Tewksbury-Volpe said. “People need help on how to deal with this because there’s really no limit to the amount of times something like this can happen to you.”
Tewksbury-Volpe’s Kia was stolen for the first time in January after she had parked it on the street in the area of New York and Florida avenues in Northeast D.C.
“We came out and our car was gone,” Tewksbury-Volpe said.
Police recovered the vehicle about a week later.
It had minimal damage, but the thief had racked up five speed camera tickets across several counties in Maryland.
Those tickets were ultimately waived after Tewksbury-Volpe challenged them and reported that her vehicle had been stolen.
In early May, Tewksbury-Volpe’s SUV was once again targeted, as someone broke into her vehicle and apparently tried to steal it from a parking garage near the Foggy Bottom Metro station.
“The steering wheel column had been torn out again,” Tewksbury-Volpe said. “Someone tried to jump-start it.”
After her Kia was stolen yet again this week after being parked on the street in Northeast, Tewksbury-Volpe said she’s worried that her car insurance company might end up dropping her.
For now, insurance is covering the cost of a rental car as she deals with the situation and waits to see if her vehicle is found.
“If it’s recovered, we’ll look to replace it and get a new car,” Tewksbury-Volpe said. “Unfortunately, it just seems that, right now, it’s impossible to keep a Kia in a major urban setting.”
