New video of stolen car nearly hitting girls: Thieves ‘were in and out,’ owner says

GREENE COUNTY — The owner of a stolen car that nearly hit three 9-year-old girls this week said he couldn’t believe how quickly it was taken and how fast it was being driven by the thieves.

>> Previous Coverage: 3 little girls nearly hit by stolen car in Greene County

The stolen white Kia jumped the curb, tore through a lawn, bounced up on two wheels, and just missed the girls who were playing in a yard.

“They were in and out in a matter of just a couple minutes,” Leo Lashley, the car’s owner, said Thursday.

Lashley said his neighbor’s surveillance camera captured a silver car pulling up in front of his mobile home around 11 a.m. Tuesday. Two people ran up to his Kia Soul while one stayed in that getaway car.

The camera showed what appeared to be young people almost hitting each other as they backed Lashley’s car out of the driveway and took off. They then headed to a dead end. A few seconds later the camera shows the stolen car speeding for an exit from the mobile home community.

“The caretaker told me he couldn’t believe how fast the Kia was going because I’m a typical senior driver,” Lashley said.

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Lashley said his friends and family told him about what the Kia did in Xenia.

911 callers reported it going almost 100 mph on residential streets and near schools.

Things turned even more dangerous moments later, on Texas Drive, the driver jumped a curb and tore through a yard. The driver bounced onto two wheels while speeding within five feet of the girls.

Thursday, News Center 7 obtained more new video showing the thieves speeding to a stop at the dead-end of Texas Drive, getting out, jumping a fence and then running across U.S. 35.

Greene County sheriff’s deputies have not announced any arrests and said investigators are studying the video of the incident in an effort to identify the thieves.

Meanwhile, Lashley said he is making arrangements for repairs to his car and noted the money would likely come out of his pocket to meet his insurance deductible.

“I think these guys need to be caught, pretty quick,” Lashley said.

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