A Las Vegas man has sued Hyundai over the death of his wife, who was killed in 2024 when a 14-year-old boy driving a stolen Hyundai Elantra ran a red light and slammed into her vehicle. Patrick Leonard's complaint accuses the automaker of selling cars without effective anti-theft protection, arguing that gap in security made it possible for his wife, Andrea Leonard, to be killed by a joyrider behind the wheel of a car he never should have been able to start.
Leonard filed the complaint Wednesday against Hyundai, the teenager, identified as Tyree Jackson Jr., and unnamed designers and manufacturers, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The lawsuit alleges wrongful death, products liability and negligence stemming from the fatal collision involving the stolen 2018 Elantra. At the core of the complaint is the claim that Hyundai negligently sold vehicles lacking effective anti-theft technologies even though such safeguards were widely available and commonly used by other automakers.
A Red Light, a Stolen Car and a Life Cut Short
Andrea Leonard was driving on South Buffalo Drive toward West Desert Inn Road on Nov. 7, 2024, when Jackson, driving the stolen Elantra, ran a red light and crashed into her car, per the Review-Journal's reporting. She was taken to University Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. A GoFundMe fundraiser set up afterward described her as a devoted mother and wife.
Jackson was 14 years old at the time of the crash. He initially faced charges including reckless driving resulting in death or substantial bodily harm, possession of a stolen vehicle and failure to stop at a crash scene, the newspaper reported. He was charged as an adult in May 2025 and was released from custody on electronic monitoring. According to court records cited by the outlet, Jackson pleaded guilty last month to reckless driving, with sentencing scheduled for January 19.
Attorney Says Hyundai Knew the Risk
Attorney Benjamin Cloward, who is representing Leonard through Cloward Trial Lawyers, wrote in the complaint that the Elantra's ignition and anti-theft system made it unusually susceptible to unauthorized starting and operation. Cloward said Hyundai knew or should have known that easily stolen cars could end up driven by unsafe or unlicensed people, the Review-Journal reported. Leonard's complaint further alleges that effective anti-theft technologies were widely available and commonly used by other automakers at the time Hyundai sold the vehicle involved in the crash.
A Hyundai spokesperson told the outlet the company's thoughts are with the family affected by the tragedy. Spokesperson Ira Gabriel said Hyundai has introduced security measures to address thefts linked to social media trends, including no-cost anti-theft software upgrades and ignition cylinder protectors for eligible vehicles, along with partnerships with law enforcement to strengthen vehicle security. Gabriel added that customers can check their vehicle's eligibility and learn about available anti-theft solutions online. A bulletin hosted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration notes that Hyundai has offered customers an anti-theft ignition-cylinder protector for vehicles that cannot receive the software upgrade.
A Theft Trend That Started With a Viral Video
The vulnerability traces back to a 2022 viral TikTok challenge that showed a specific method thieves used to bypass security systems in certain Hyundai and Kia vehicles and steal them, the Review-Journal reported. The outlet also reported that roughly 4 million Hyundai base-trim vehicles remain on U.S. roads despite meeting federal anti-theft requirements, a gap the Los Angeles Times traced to Hyundai dropping engine immobilizers from many American models, a move the Times says Kia made in 2011 and Hyundai followed five years later, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The fallout from the trend has been measured in theft statistics around the country. The National Insurance Crime Bureau reported that Hyundai and Kia thefts in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, Wisconsin area jumped 542% in 2021 compared with the prior year. More recently, the bureau's data shows the Hyundai Elantra topped its list as the most stolen vehicle model in 2025, with 21,732 thefts, after the Elantra and the Hyundai Sonata ranked first and second nationally in 2024 with 31,712 and 26,720 thefts, respectively, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
Other Families Have Filed Similar Suits
Leonard's lawsuit is not the first in the Las Vegas area tied to a stolen Hyundai. The family of retired California police chief Andy Probst filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Hyundai and two men accused in his death after he was struck and killed while riding a bicycle near Tenaya Way and Centennial Parkway in northwest Las Vegas on Aug. 14, 2023, according to 8 News Now.
Similar cases have surfaced in other cities as well. In Columbus, Ohio, more than 5,300 of the 10,660 vehicles reported stolen in 2023 were Hyundais or Kias, according to 10TV. That station reported that a 66-year-old New Albany man and his wife sought damages from Hyundai after he suffered severe injuries in a crash involving a stolen vehicle in March 2023, and that the same attorney separately filed a wrongful-death lawsuit on behalf of the family of Matthew Moshi, who was killed after being hit by a teen driving a stolen Kia.
The legal exposure extends beyond individual crash victims. The Los Angeles Times reported that the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that American insurers can sue Kia and Hyundai in California federal court to recover payouts on thousands of stolen vehicles. A UCLA study cited by the newspaper projected that thefts of the automakers' most vulnerable models would likely remain elevated in Los Angeles through 2042.
