California Expands E-Bike Prosecutions

California prosecutors are turning kids’ risky e-bike rides into criminal cases against their parents, raising alarms for families on all sides of politics about how far the justice system will go into everyday parenting.

Story Snapshot

Orange County has opened 26 investigations into parents over kids’ illegal e-bike or e-motorcycle use.
At least three California parents already face felony charges after violent crashes involving minors on high-powered e-motorcycles.
Prosecutors are using child endangerment laws to target parents, not just ticket young riders.
Critics across the spectrum see the push as another sign that government is quick to punish but slow to fix deeper safety problems.

Prosecutors shift from ticketing teens to charging parents

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer has launched a special prosecution unit called RIDE SAFELY to focus on illegal e-bikes and electric motorcycles, with parents now squarely in the crosshairs. Since the start of the year, his office has filed criminal cases against three parents tied to serious crashes involving kids on powerful electric motorcycles. On top of that, prosecutors say there are twenty-six open investigations into parents whose children are suspected of riding e-bikes or e-motorcycles illegally, any of which could turn into criminal charges.

The new approach means a problem that once brought a traffic ticket can now land a mother or father in front of a judge. In a high-profile Orange County case, Aliso Viejo mom Tommi Jo Mejer was charged with felony involuntary manslaughter and child abuse after her 14-year-old son allegedly struck and killed 81-year-old Vietnam veteran Ed Ashman while riding an e-motorcycle in Lake Forest. Prosecutors say she had been warned by police that her son could not legally ride the bike but let him ride anyway. If convicted, she faces several years in state prison.

Real crashes, real injuries, and felony-level consequences

These cases grow out of real and often terrible crashes, not minor rule-breaking. In Yorba Linda, prosecutors charged Richard John Eyssallenne with felony child endangerment and abuse after his 12-year-old son ran a red light on a modified e-motorcycle, was hit by a car, and was critically injured. Officials say the bike had been altered so it could reach speeds up to 60 miles per hour, and accused the father of helping modify it. A police statement compared such machines to “a loaded weapon” in a child’s hands and warned that parents who let kids ride them illegally “are going to be prosecuted.”

Further north, Contra Costa County prosecutors charged Benicia parents Steven Leroy Crews and Jeanna Marie Gabellini with misdemeanor child abuse after their unlicensed child crashed a high-powered e-moto in Walnut Creek and was seriously hurt. Prosecutors allege the parents allowed their child to ride at unsafe speeds over months, even after repeated warnings and citations from police. These cases show how district attorneys are dusting off long-standing child endangerment laws and applying them to a new class of battery-powered bikes and motorcycles that often blur the line between bicycle and small motorcycle.

New California laws put explicit duties on parents

Behind the prosecutions sits a broader shift in California law that puts more explicit responsibility on parents for how minors use e-bikes. Legal analysts point to Assembly Bill 875, which lets officers impound high-speed Class 3 e-bikes when they catch underage riders and makes parents jointly liable for certain fines and violations. A recent safety advisory from Riverside County explained that under California Penal Code section 273a, parents can face felony child endangerment if they provide an unsuitable e-bike, skip safety training, or allow children to ride without required helmets or gear in ways that risk serious injury or death.

Dozens of California parents may face criminal charges over kids' illegal e-bike rides https://t.co/Q835f85J7y pic.twitter.com/QMRCi0gGdu

— California Post (@californiapost) August 2, 2026

Supporters of this tougher approach say prosecutors are simply catching up with reality. E-bikes and electric motorcycles have flooded streets faster than road rules and parental awareness. Some models sold as “bikes” can hit freeway speeds, yet children ride them in shorts and sneakers through busy intersections. For many families, these machines look like toys but behave like small motor vehicles. District attorneys argue that when a parent buys or modifies such a machine, ignores warnings, and a child or bystander is badly hurt, that crosses from bad judgment into criminal neglect.

Shared worries about safety, freedom, and government overreach

At the same time, the crackdown hits deep nerves for conservatives and liberals who already believe the system fails ordinary people. Many on the right see another example of government reaching into family life and criminalizing parenting decisions instead of fixing basics like street design, driver education, and enforcement against repeat dangerous offenders. Many on the left look at the same headlines and worry that poorer families and minority communities will face the harshest penalties, while wealthier parents can hire lawyers, pay fines, and move on with their lives.

Both sides question why the state moved faster to threaten parents with prison than to set clear, easy-to-understand rules for selling and labeling powerful e-bikes. There is no evidence yet that these new prosecutions reduce crashes statewide, in part because California does not publish clear, separate data on e-bike and e-motorcycle incidents or on how often parents are charged. Still, with at least four active parent cases in Orange County alone and more than two dozen investigations underway, families across the political spectrum are being put on notice that the justice system is watching what their kids ride and how they ride it.