Stolen car nearly mows down students at Monroe High School

ROCHESTER, N.Y. The head of the Rochester Teachers Association spoke out Friday night after another stolen car sped onto a city school campus.

Police are still searching for the driver. The black Hyundai was caught on video driving recklessly through the campus of Monroe High School on Friday morning, just as students were making their way into the building. It all happened around 9:15 a.m. when police responded to a 911 call about a car driving recklessly through campus.

District officials say they are taking this situation very seriously and doing everything they can to make sure it never happens again. Rochester Teachers Association President Adam Urbanski said the Hyundai caught speeding across a sidewalk at Monroe High School has the attention of law enforcement and district officials.

“They actually had to run to avoid being hit,” Urbanski said. “This is a very unsettling situation.”

Monroe High School Student Alex Falcon said administration officials did their best to keep students calm after everyone had made it inside safely.

“They just tried to keep us calm and [collected],” Falcon said.

This is a calm that Urbanski said can only be assured once the larger crime issue is faced head-on.

“This is a citywide problem,” Urbanski said. “This is not just a school problem. These are individuals who believe that there are no consequences for their criminal behavior. That must change.”

Urbanski says the rise in stolen cars, carjackings, and other issues currently being felt citywide is a recipe for disaster. Police are still searching for the car and driver involved in Friday’s incident at Monroe High School and urge anyone with information to contact RPD.

RCSD called the incident horrifying. Here is the full statement from RCSD:

“I am horrified that, once again, a stolen car was driven extremely recklessly at one of our schools, endangering the lives of our students and staff. Thankfully, no one was injured in this incident, yet it serves as a stark reminder of the impact that these serious crimes have on our community.”

“I am working with Mayor Evans and the Rochester Police Department and am doing everything in my power to ensure the safety of our school community.“

“These continued incidents have a significant impact on our students and staff. We urge anyone with information about this incident or any other criminal activity in our community to come forward and report it to the RPD.“

Local leaders have raised alarms about an increase in thefts for Kia and Hyundai models because of how-to videos circulating on TikTok.

Leaders also say the automakers failed to add proper anti-theft technology, making the cars easy to hotwire with a USB cable. In the first three months of 2023 alone, Rochester had a nearly 2,400% increase in thefts of Kias and Hyundais.