From a fatal crash in Lake Forest to rising injuries and emergency-room admissions across Southern California, officials say dangerous e-bike riding is accelerating—fueling stepped-up enforcement and warnings to parents who may not realize they’re handing teen
On a summer weekend in Huntington Beach, Sam El-Said says the ride turned into chaos fast.
He and his wife had ridden their e-scooters through a crowd of more than 100 young e-bike riders on May 9, and he remembers the moment the mood shifted into danger. El-Said was attacked by several young men. Two minors were arrested.
Across California, the pattern officials are trying to stop is no longer theoretical. An 81-year-old Vietnam veteran died after a 14-year-old crashed into him in Lake Forest. according to the account tied to the case involving Tommi Jo Mejer. center. 50. Mejer appeared at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach and is facing involuntary manslaughter charges after the collision; his son was riding the e-motorcycle.
In other places, the risks have arrived with the sound of speeding wheels. In Yorba Linda, a 12-year-old was critically injured while riding a modified e-motorcycle. In Oceanside, a rider fled from police in a chase that reached speeds up to 50 mph. And in Huntington Beach, El-Said described packs of riders that grow “brazen” as they move together.
Police officers and prosecutors say graduations and summer make the timing worse. They’re pushing for tighter controls now—before more bikes roll out, more crashes follow, and more families absorb the kind of loss that doesn’t leave room to argue.
Los Angeles Police Department collision investigator Officer Brandon Pon put it plainly: “If these bikes are not treated with respect and care, it could be just as dangerous as handing over a firearm.” Pon has also warned that online videos show how to modify bikes to increase speeds.
The state’s concern is tied to how easily some models can be changed—and how often buyers and parents may not understand what they’re getting. Police said some bikes marketed for kids are more akin to motorcycles, reaching speeds up to 50 mph. Some parents are unaware of the difference between e-bikes and e-motorcycles. police said. while others are knowingly handing fast. dangerous bikes to young and inexperienced riders.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta warned sellers. manufacturers. and consumers in April that modified e-bikes—and those that exceed state regulations—may be illegal for unlicensed riders. Weeks later. Amazon de-listed several electric motorcycles from purchase in California. and law enforcement officials began looking for additional ways to cut down on illegal riding before summer.
In Orange County. District Attorney Todd Spitzer created a specialized unit to go after dangerous riders. including minors. and began charging parents as well. Spitzer said in a statement: “If parents refuse to hold their children accountable. then I am going to hold parents accountable when they knowingly break the law.” He added: “There is absolutely no reason a child should be handed the keys to a motorcycle and be sent on their way without training. without a license. and without the maturity to handle that kind of responsibility.”.
In San Diego, health officials say the injuries have been climbing hard enough to prompt direct guidance. On May 28. the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency issued a notice warning doctors about the increasing number of e-bike-related injuries. The county recommended physicians to encourage helmet use and counseled parents about differences between e-bikes. the risks of riding in tandem. and local and state laws.
The legal distinctions are part of why enforcement is complicated—and why families can fall into traps without realizing it. In California, e-bikes are split into three classifications based on features and maximum speeds.
Class 1 bicycles use an electric motor that engages only when manual pedals are used. with a maximum motor speed of 20 mph. Class 2 bicycles provide electrical power up to 20 mph, but have a throttle that can be used without using the pedals. Class 3 e-bikes are similar to Class 1 pedal bicycles. but have a maximum speed of 28 mph. and the rider must be over 16 years of age.
But electric cycles that can boost power past 28 mph. have a motor stronger than 750 watts. or do not have pedals are not legally considered e-bikes in California. according to the California Department of Justice. Those vehicles are instead considered either electric mopeds or motorcycles. required to be registered with the DMV. and ridden by people with a motorcycle license. Bikes must have a label identifying what class of e-bike they are. and the California Department of Justice warned retailers earlier this month that misrepresenting electric motorcycles as e-bikes is a crime.
Pon says the goal is to make collisions preventable, not unavoidable. After the warning went out on May 10. Amazon said it agreed to stop selling e-bikes that went over the state’s limit. confirming in an email: “We are in the process of removing e-bike listings that do not comply with California speed limit regulations.”.
Doctors say the physics of these injuries doesn’t care about intent. Dr. Alan Nager. director of emergency and transport medicine at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. told a clear story from the emergency room: the bikes go faster than regular bikes. are heavier. and are more difficult to maneuver—requiring more coordination and awareness.
Nager said he’s seen the number of kids and teenagers admitted with e-bike-related injuries double each year for the past three years. In 2023, the hospital recorded eight patients with e-bike-related injuries. In 2024, it saw 16 patients. In 2025, 36 injured riders were admitted. So far this year, through the first five months, the hospital has seen 21 patients with e-bike injuries.
Nager also said pedal-bike injuries still exist at the hospital, but e-bike riders tend to suffer more severe and serious injuries, which he attributes to speed. “There’s a relationship between higher speed, less coordination and more chances of an accident,” Nager said.
Even so, getting a clean statewide number is hard. Quantifying exactly how many crashes. injuries. and fatalities occur is a challenge because multiple law enforcement agencies still classify e-bike crashes with pedal bike accidents. An official from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement: “Specifically. incident and crash reporting is seldom specific enough to indicate these bike types. with e-bike crashes often recorded as bicycle crashes. and e-scooters often recorded as pedestrian crashes.”.
That tracking problem is mirrored by research. A study by San Jose University’s Mineta Transportation Institute. published in December. said data was hard to collect for the same reason. It found. however. that according to the National Fatality Analysis Reporting System. at least 154 fatal e-bike crashes were recorded between 2022 and 2023. Another study published this year by the American Academy Orthopaedic Surgeons. focused on electric and pedal bike injuries at a San Diego trauma center. found that e-bike injuries in San Diego jumped by more than 300% between 2019 and 2023.
In Orange County, officials are working with schools and the Orange County Transportation Authority for educational programs, according to Sgt. Gerard McCann of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Some schools require students to register bicycles—electric or pedal powered—if they’re taken to and from school.
But McCann said that if there’s a new rule, some students will test it. Earlier this month. deputies were called to a local high school after students riding e-bikes—including some that appeared to be motorcycles—were spotted locking them in a secluded area away from campus to avoid registering them.
The department’s enforcement record also reflects a shift. A recent review of e-bike-related citations by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department showed the problem growing: e-bike-related citations jumped to 259 in 2025. up from 173 the previous year. The two most common tickets, according to the department, were riding without a helmet and unsafe riding.
Then there’s the digital fuel. Online, teens watch videos showing how to remove speed limits on bikes so they can go past legal limits. Pon said some modifications are so specific they can go unnoticed without training or expertise. “It’s almost impossible for law enforcement to identify right off the bat, a simple modification,” Pon said.
Pon explained that the modifications can be simple and made on several models with basic tools, increasing speeds up to 50 mph. Video tutorials show how to override control panels that limit speeds, and how to change out batteries and motors.
That’s part of why law enforcement efforts can escalate into personal risk. Deputies and police sometimes stop a rider on an e-bike—or an illegal motorcycle—and the rider’s friends may help the minor flee. In Newport Beach on May 9, police tried to stop an underage rider on an illegal electric motorcycle. A video posted by police shows the boy fled. At times, police said he drove onto opposing traffic at high speed, prompting officers to abandon the chase. He was later arrested at his home, and police said they had previous encounters with him. Police said they would be recommending charges against his mother.
McCann said parents can be left out of the information loop, even after vehicles are seized. When deputies try to reach out to parents about the risks of an illegal e-bike or motorcycle. he said. parents are often not aware of the differences. He also described the anger that can follow: “A few parents. he said. are angry that the vehicles are seized after learning their kids are not allowed to ride them.” McCann said: “That’s part of the problem. It’s really the parents who are paying for them.”.
For officials. the push right now is simple: get the brakes on before the summer crowds and street-level “rideout” gatherings make injuries more common. Police say riders post calls for rideouts on social media, triggering gatherings of dozens of riders or more. Law enforcement said large crowds can get rowdy. block large streets as they ride en mass. and in a few occasions turned violent.
And as summertime approaches, Pon said police are trying to put as much information and education out to the public as they can to prevent more injuries on the street.
California e-bikes e-motorcycles teens safety law enforcement helmet laws Orange County San Diego Los Angeles injuries