More Southwest Michigan Car Thefts and Chases Lead to Crashes

Car theft numbers in Southwest Michigan have continued to rise over the last few years. From people taking the easy licks like people warming their cars up in the Winter, someone leaving their car running while going inside of a store, and other "gimme" opportunities while others have been using technology to perform the deed on newer model vehicles.

Viral videos on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook and other platforms show how individuals can use their iPhones or iPhone chargers to take newer models of vehicles like a Kia Sportage or Telluride, Dodge Chargers, Durangos, Challengers, and many other kinds of vehicles. Most of these thefts lead to a high-speed chase and a lot of these chases end in horrific car accidents and here's why.

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Real-Life Grand Theft Auto

After seeing a car theft, chase and crash in both Kent County and Kalamazoo/Calhoun Counties within 24 hours of each other many residents are wondering who keeps taking all these vehicles and why it keeps happening.

In recent years, some residents of Michigan have taken it upon themselves to create a real-life version of the popular video game, Grand Theft Auto. In the game, you can do just about whatever you want, go on heists, and everything in between to raise money and clout while evading the police.

Now, the real-life version that we're seeing from Michiganders is a tad bit different as they are either trying to "fit in" with the rest of the crowd or truly just want to try and live whatever life they want to live.

Now that we've figured out why so many cars are being taken, we now have to figure out why everyone is taking the police on wild high-speed chases and why they're all ending in crashes.

Not Crash Test Dummies

You would think that if someone stole a car they wouldn't try running from the cops when they get behind them and turn on their lights, right? WRONG! A lot of the recent carjackings in Southwest Michigan have been taken to the next step when authorities try to intervene.

A majority of these culprits have been teenagers which makes many residents shake their heads and wonder why these kids would be committing these acts at such a young age. I think this may be one of the reasons they are attempting to flee from cops in the heat of the moment.

They already know that they've made a bad decision by stealing the vehicle and don't want to face the consequences of those actions, not realizing that a high-speed chase will bring about more or even worse consequences. They're just scared children who also don't have licenses and shouldn't be behind the wheel anyway, so a lot of emotions are running, and bad decisions are made.

Lastly, we can't ignore that some of the individuals involved in these activities are adults and are making these decisions because they want to. Some people stealing cars are old enough to know better and either has felonies or warrants for arrests and this leads to high-speed chases as well.

All of these reasons factor into the reason so many crashes have occurred. When you look at the number of teenagers stealing cars that don't have licenses, the number of people with felonies or warrants, and gross negligence we've found all the reasons.

They essentially either can't drive because they were never taught or just aren't great drivers, they could be afraid of going to or returning to jail/prison, or they really just don't care and want to do whatever they want to do.