Hello, my name is Matthew and I would like to tell you my story...

I am a hard-working individual who with the help of my wife Elizabeth cares for my beautiful daughter Ava who is 3 1/2 years old and my wonderful son Jacob who is 6 months old. Recently I have been picking up extra shifts to increase our saving potential to start the process of owning our first home. With both of us working and focusing on child care the ability for having two cars has been a huge benefit.

Recently there has been a rise in carjackings for Kia and Hyundai vehicles due to a security flaw in the ignition system. This has led to an increase of roughly 55% from 2021 to 2022 and has only been getting worse in the Chicagoland area. Furthermore many auto insurance companies have been refusing these brands as it poses a liability.

The car in the photo is a 2019 Hyundai Tucson...

I was informed during my insurance renewal that due to the higher thefts would be not renewing the auto policy. It was at this point I started calling around and was declined the offer for coverage of the vehicle and everyone had the same reason, being that the car was a huge auto theft risk. During this time my wife and I were trying to figure out what to do with the car. Could we find a company to cover us? Should we take the car to a dealership and trade it in? These questions were answered for us in the worst possible way.

Around 4:50 in the morning I returned from work in our other car and have out of habit locked the car I am driving then lock the car my wife drives to know they are both there and locked, but I didn't hear anything. After looking around and clicking the keyfob I couldn't see or hear the car. I went into the house and woke my wife asking her where she parked. When she said right across the street I asked her to get up and show me cause I didn't see the car. After pressing the matter she put her coat on and came out with me and pointed to where the car should be parked. All we could see is broken glass and a bag that was in the car tossed to the curb. The car was gone. After speaking to the authorities all we could do was wait for the car to turn up. We were informed that due to the Tik Tok challenge, this has become a common occurrence. At 5 pm I was notified that they found the vehicle, left abandoned on the I-290 set ablaze. Everything in the vehicle was gone, which included the kid's belongings and that's what saddened us the most.

The 15k goal is for the outstanding loan that we still have to pay toward the car. There was no gap coverage on the vehicle and my insurance declined a policy renewal due to this very reason. I understand 15k is a high number that in many situations would be unobtainable. I am just asking to relieve a little of what is owed as we will still need to try and obtain a second vehicle as the other car is not a family car. Any help would be greatly appreciated and to those that cannot donate I understand that times are hard but sharing my story will mean so much.