A new stereo, freezing cold air conditioning, plastic wrap hugging the seats—the atmosphere of a new car cannot be beat. And the pride that comes with its ownership is often nothing short of lavishly quintessential.
But for TikToker Darra (@deardarlingdesignstudio), the honeymoon stage of her 2024 Kia Soul was cut short.
In a video that was posted on Jan. 25 and received over 160,000 views, the mother took her viewers on a journey as she described the events that she said occurred just the night before. Thinking she had simply left her lights on, Darra said she went to check on her car, only to realize it had been broken into.
“I see the windshield wipers, front and back going, the dash is on as I’m approaching it, and I’m starting to get sketched out,” Darra said.
Parked outside her suburban home in Baltimore, Md. at around 6:30pm, Darra said she realized this was out of the ordinary for her new car, as not only were all the gadgets of her car running, but the driver’s seat was also laying flat.
“I thought the car was malfunctioning or something. Is it gonna blow up?” Darra recalled questioning. “I was scared.”
In shock, Darra said she quickly ran back inside to her unaccompanied children and called her husband. Yet, during the two-minutes Darra was inside, she said the situation escalated. Her neighbor’s Ring Camera, she said, caught footage of a person running away from the car.
“So they were in the car when I first approached it,” she claimed.
When Darra went back out to the car to get a better look, she said it was clear to her that whoever was in the car had no intention of leaving it in one piece.
“They ripped the whole ignition out. They broke the back driver side window. My brand new car—I still had all the plastic and everything on it.” Darra said. “There was glass all over my baby’s carseat.”
Thankful that at least she and her family were left safe, Darra said she grew angry that the vehicle she worked so hard to get was now violated.
“I saved up every penny to get myself a new car,” Darra said. “I was so excited to finally have a car that has heat and AC.”
After driving her 2002 Toyota Avalon with barely working breaks, Darra said she worked tirelessly to provide a fully operating method of transportation for her young children.
“I’ve never had anything nice for myself. My whole life I grew up homeless, poor, eating … food bank food. I’ve worked so hard to dig myself out of that trench, and I finally got something decent for me,” Darra said.
“I feel so violated,” she added.
Darra said that as she made a police report, she learned that these incidents are far from uncommon. She said the police told her that not only are similar cars getting broken into, but these offenses are allegedly being committed by teenagers.
Darra said the police told her that these teenagers, between the ages of 13 and 16, are breaking into different automobiles with the mindset that they lack any real consequences as they are under the state’s legal age of jurisdiction. “They [the cops] said over 10,000 cars were stolen in Baltimore last year, and that it is mostly kids doing it,” Darra said. Several news reports of cars like Kias and Hyundais getting broken into or stolen seem to back this up.
Now, having to potentially wait over a month to get her car back, Darra posted her TikTok to raise awareness about what is reportedly happening.
“If you have a kid at that age, why aren’t you watching your kid? How are they going out and about and stealing peoples literal … vehicles under your nose?” Darra asked the parents of such teens.
@deardarlingdesignstudio Like ive worked SO HARD to save up for this car… if your kids are doing this, you need to get it together #kiasoul #kia #stolencar #kiasoulchallenge ♬ original sound – Dear Darling Design Studio
Yet, after posting her now viral content, Darra was met with backlash from commenters, criticizing her for buying a Kia in the first place.
“Should have bought a kia or a hyundai.” One viewer commented.
In a response video that Darra posted later that week, Darra acknowledged the victim-blaming, telling viewers she is just a human and questioning why she is being treated so poorly.
“I’m now terrified to be in my own home because my car was violated,” Darra said.
And while many commenters sat in agreement with Darra, sympathizing with her for her recent struggles. Darra said she is still grappling with the idea that something she had worked so hard toward will never be the same again.
“Anytime i get anything good, it’s always taken away from me. That’s my … curse,” she added.
The Daily Dot reached out to Darra (@deardarlingdesignstudio) for comment via TikTok direct message.
