Ahjanae Harper GoFundMe: Family launches fundraiser as teen mom among four killed in Buffalo car crash

Four teenagers killed in a Buffalo car crash while attempting a TikTok challenge were identified as Ahjanae Harper, 14, Swazine Swindle, 17, Marcus Webster, 19, and Kevin Payne, 16. The latter three died inciting car theft along with the car's occupant Ahjanae Harper, who was reportedly the mother of an infant.

On Tuesday, October 25, 2022, news broke that a group of young people were killed when a stolen Kia they were travelling in, crashed on Monday morning. The crash unloaded the three of them and one another occupant.

According to Buffalo police, a total of six people were in a stolen Kia Sportage that collided just before 7 am on Monday in upstate New York City. Three of the four victims died on the spot and one later passed away at a hospital.

In a statement, Buffalo police commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said that it was a "terrible, terrible outcome" for the young kids who had their entire lives in front of them.

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Young mom Ahjanae Harper had a four-month-old baby girl

Police have charged a 16-year-old, who was operating the vehicle with a felony count of fourth-degree criminal possession of a firearm and a misdemeanor count of improper use of a vehicle. The teen received an appearance ticket and has until November 15, 2022, to appear in court. The district attorney's office in Erie County intends on bringing more charges.

Meanwhile, another teenager, a 14-year-old girl, was steadily recovering at the Erie County Medical Center. Although the girl was initially receiving care in the trauma intensive care unit, her condition has been upgraded to stable.

However, it was another 14-year-old girl, Ahjanae Harper, who lost her life. Harper recently gave birth to a baby girl, and according to a local, she was a young mother who spent a lot of time with her daughter.

Ahjanae Harper's friends and family said that she would have turned 15 on November 1, 2022. The family has launched a GoFundMe campaign of $15,000 to meet her funeral expenses.

The Buffalo Police Commissioner said that since the challenge went viral on TikTok, there has been an increase in car thefts in the area. Experts, meanwhile, are still dubious about the likelihood of a random person taking up a dare online.

Yotam Ophir, an assistant professor at the University of Buffalo communication department, said:

“Isolating a specific video that seems detrimental, and assuming that it has a huge impact over people’s behavior, is just unreasonable from an empirical point of view. That’s not how media effects work."

He continued to say that a lot of people don't know about the challenges and a number of them don't even care. He said that even if they watch the videos and find them amusing, they won't just walk out and steal a car.

The accident is still under investigation.