Despite claims of improving conditions, the Baltimore area has suffered multiple fatalities over the past year due to reckless driving involving stolen vehicles. Just nine days into 2024, the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) informed the family of a 53-year-old man that he had tragically become the city’s latest victim, killed in a collision with a stolen car on West Franklin Street.
According to police, the law enforcement helicopter Foxtrot was tracking the stolen vehicle before it struck and killed the victim. Two 18-year-old suspects were taken into custody after the fatal crash.
This devastating January incident is not an isolated occurrence. In February 2023, 54-year-old pedestrian Alfred Fincher lost his life after being struck by a stolen car evading police at the intersection of East North Avenue and North Wolfe Street. The impact caused the vehicle to collide with a corner rowhouse, resulting in its collapse onto the stolen car.
These incidents underscore that car thefts in Baltimore are more than mere inconveniences; in some cases, they lead to loss of life. Nonetheless, as the mayoral primary election approaches, quality-of-life crimes have taken center stage, with candidates weighing in on the issue.
During a recent debate, Mayor Brandon Scott claimed the city has turned a corner in the stolen car crisis, citing a drop in numbers over the past 28 days and asserting that the police department is making arrests in auto thefts almost daily.
However, while Mayor Scott is correct about a decrease in reported auto thefts in April, police data reveals that year-to-date auto theft numbers for 2024 are 25.9% higher than the same period in 2023. Moreover, auto thefts surged to a record high in 2023, with a 90.27% increase compared to 2022, and many neighborhoods experienced staggering triple-digit hikes in stolen cars.
The death toll from stolen vehicles extends beyond Baltimore City. In early April, a man driving a stolen car collided head-on with a woman while fleeing police on I-695, an incident still under investigation. In October, three teens died after slamming a stolen car into a tree while being chased by police in Bowie, following an armed carjacking in Greenbelt.
As car thefts continue to plague the region, this low-level quality-of-life crime proves increasingly deadly. Neither Mayor Scott nor City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates immediately responded to inquiries on Tuesday, but this story will be updated with any relevant direct responses received.