COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The man accused of hitting and killing a 4-year-old boy with a stolen Kia is locked up on a $250,000 bond after the suspect, Tyrell Shute, 24, appeared in court Monday.
People who saw the crash said it was a terrible scene.
This is just the latest stolen car crash with a violent ending in the City of Columbus.
According to Columbus Police, more than 2,500 Kias and Hyundais have been stolen in the City of Columbus so far this year.
Columbus police said yet again one person’s reckless choice takes an innocent life.
“Just sad for the family and the community who ended up losing a 4-year-old child,” Columbus Division of Police Cmdr. Mark Denner said. “Nobody should have to experience that, so the grieving of that community, my heart goes out to them.”
Police said that on Saturday, officers tried to stop a stolen Kia on Greenfield Drive. They alledge that the driver, Shute, didn’t stop, but instead sped up.
Police said he allegedly drove straight into the path of a the boy, who was playing outside at the Southpark Apartments.
Police rushed the boy to hospital in their own cruiser, but it was too late.
“Anger that we have individuals (who) think that it’s OK to steal cars and flee from the police and not comply and drive recklessly and put so many people in danger and as a result, this is the incident that we are left with,” Denner said.
Police said Shute fled the scene on foot.
However, the crash report shows there was a woman in the car who did not leave. Police say she stayed for questioning. Police say they are still investigating to determine each person’s role in the crash.
Shute has been arrested and charged with vehicular homicide. Monday Shute made his first appearance in court. He said to the judge “this was not my fault.”
“I will commit to you that we will do our part from the investigative side of the house, and from the division standpoint that we will continue to investigate, trying to hold people accountable, and then we will work with our partners over at the courthouse, the prosecutors and the judges but hey, there has to be that consequence on the backend. As we continue to take these steps hopefully, we will make some progress,” Denner said.
In November, City Attorney Zach Klein filed a lawsuit against Kia and Hyundai.
“Our police are diverting resources to Kias and Hyundais, our emergency rooms are filled with people that have been in car accidents because of Kias and Hyundais, there’s property damage in our city because of Kias and Hyundais,” Klein said.
In March both companies unveiled a free security upgrade for drivers that should prevent these thefts. Klein said even with the upgrade the damage is done.
“Kia, and Hyundai, they don’t get off the hook,” Klein said. “This is something that’s really important to the City of Columbus. We are going to tackle the significant rising car theft that’s primarily driven by Kia and Hyundai. Kia and Hyundai need to be part of the solution because they are part of the problem,” Klein said.
Klein said that lawsuit has moved to a multi-district litigation out of California because so many other cities have filed the same lawsuit. He said since Columbus was one of the first to file, the city of Columbus will have a lawyer representing us on the committee to help guide the process.
A Kia spokesperson said the company joins Columbus in mourning the young boy lost as a result of the alleged theft.
“Kia continues to take action to help our customers by making it more difficult for criminals to use methods of theft recently popularized on social media to steal certain vehicle models,” said the spokesperson. “Kia has been and continues to be willing to work cooperatively with law enforcement agencies in the City of Columbus to combat car theft and the role social media has played in encouraging it, and we remain committed to supporting our customers and to vehicle security.”