E-bike deaths surge across Orange County, prompting DA unit and school bans

Deaths, crashes and criminal charges tied to electric bikes and illegal e-motorcycles are mounting across Orange County, prompting the district attorney to create a dedicated prosecution unit and school boards to ban the vehicles on campuses, Voice of OC reported Wednesday.

Emergency room trauma activations at Children's Hospital of Orange County from e-bike accidents jumped from one in 2021 to 201 last year, exposing a regulatory patchwork in which all 34 Orange County cities operate under different rules.

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer announced the creation of a specialized e-bike and e-motorcycle prosecution unit, citing a mounting public safety crisis. "The death and devastation caused by e-Bikes and E-Motorcycles has reached epidemic levels, and we as elected officials must do everything we can to save lives," Spitzer said, according to Voice of OC. "If parents refuse to hold their children accountable, then I am going to hold parents accountable when they knowingly break the law."

Two deaths illustrate the danger. A 13-year-old boy died in Garden Grove after his e-motorcycle struck a center median, and a Cal State Fullerton soccer player was killed in November 2025 after colliding with a box truck while riding an e-scooter, Voice of OC reported. In Aliso Viejo, a mother faces felony child endangerment and involuntary manslaughter charges after her 14-year-old son, riding an illegal e-motorcycle, fatally struck an 81-year-old Vietnam veteran. A Yorba Linda father was separately charged with felony child endangerment after helping his 12-year-old modify an e-motorcycle to reach 60 mph.

Researchers at CHOC tracked trauma activations as they climbed — 38 in 2022, 61 in 2023, 125 in 2024 and 201 in 2025. "We basically have kids riding vehicles that are much more like motorcycles than bicycles, and many of them have not taken a class on how to ride them safely and don't know the rules of the road," said Laura Goodman, who led the CHOC study, according to Voice of OC. "It's a big problem."

Newport-Mesa Unified School District voted 6-1 to ban e-bikes for elementary and middle school students beginning fall 2026; high schoolers may ride if they complete a safety training course. "Our responsibility as a board is to keep our students safe. I would rather be criticized here right now than sit here months from now wishing we would have done more to save a life," board member Lisa Pearson said, according to Voice of OC. Trustee Ashley Anderson, the lone dissenting vote, raised concerns about jurisdictional overreach, saying: "I'm concerned when we're making plans about things that really are the city's role, and the cities are not aligned or on the same page or communicating well."

Under state law, Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes reach a maximum of 20 mph; Class 3 tops out at 28 mph. Vehicles with motors exceeding 750 watts or speeds beyond 28 mph are classified as e-motorcycles and require a license. A 2024 Orange County Grand Jury investigation recommended every city develop specific e-bike policies and standardized reporting systems. Huntington Beach has already authorized police to impound illegal e-bikes operated by minors and mandates that riders complete safety courses.

Newport-Mesa board member Krista Weigand said the district acted deliberately. "We're not making these decisions without talking to schools and parents. We're not taking it lightly," she said, according to Voice of OC.