Ingram Borough community asked to be alert as police investigate series of car thefts
Ingram police are asking people to be on the lookout for criminals breaking into vehicles and stealing them, specifically Hyundais and Kias. In less than a week, they've reported at least four car thefts and one break-in in the borough and neighboring municipalities.
Criminals left behind shards of glass in the back seat of Diana Slivinska's Kia Soul after smashing the window.
"It's one more thing to have to deal with," Slivinska said.
She was having coffee with her husband at their home off West Prospect Avenue on Saturday morning when she got a call.
"Our neighbor next door had called to say, 'Hey, you know, somebody broke into your car,'" Slivinska said.
They reported the break-in to their insurance company and noticed they had a voicemail from Ingram police, who had already filed a report and were looking into a rash of incidents.
"People should be able to park their cars in front of their homes without this kind of thing happening," Slivinska said.
Slivinska was one of the lucky ones, but early Saturday morning, police said thieves stole a Hyundai Sonata from her street and left behind a wrecked Elantra stolen from Pittsburgh's Sheraden neighborhood. Police found the Sonata a few hours later in Sheraden, crashed into a pole.
A few days earlier, last Tuesday night, thieves stole another Elantra off Stratmore, and police recovered a stolen Elantra from Crafton Borough, just three parking spots away.
Ingram Police Chief Jack Doherty said all the cars were locked and had broken windows and steering columns. One even had a steering wheel lock on it. They've recovered all of them, but the suspects are still at large.
"I think they're connected. I think it's just kids. When I say kids, I'm talking like 15 to maybe 20, going around, trying doors, using the, you know, the Hyundai, Kia thing, taking cars, making TikTok videos, Instagram, things like that," Doherty said.
It appears they're specifically looking for Hyundais and Kias, which have become easy targets because of flaws in their steering columns.
Doherty urges folks to keep their cars in driveways or garages, to keep valuables out of them, and to get steering wheel locks or maybe even install a kill switch.
Slivinska already takes some of those precautions and plans to be more wary in the future.
"This is a nice neighborhood. We don't usually have this kind of thing going on here, and I'm really hoping that whoever it is gets caught," Slivinska said.
If you have any information about these thefts or see any suspicious activity call 911.
