OC Trauma Doctor Speaks Out After E-Motorbike Crashes Claim Boy, 13, And Teacher, 81

LAKE FOREST, CA — A surge of e-bike and e-motorcycle crashes involving children has Orange County reeling with many residents left wondering what the next steps should be.

At Providence Mission Hospital, Dr. Tetsuya Takeuchi told Patch that trauma incidents involving e-bikes and children have reached unprecedented numbers.

In 2025, there was a total of 255 e-bike-related traumas treated at Providence Mission Hospital, and most of those patients were children, with 75 percent of those cases being boys and 25 percent of those cases being girls.

Twenty-one of those incidents involved adults ages 55 and higher, 105 of those incidents involved adults from 18-54 and 129 of those incidents involved children, Takeuchi said.

As of 2026, e-bike-related incidents contribute to much of Providence Mission Hospital's trauma cases.

One such incident involved an 81-year-old Vietnam War veteran and substitute teacher, who was struck and killed by a teenager doing a wheelie on an e-motorcycle on April 16 in Lake Forest, according to prosecutors.

Ashman's death is followed by the death of a 13-year-old Santa Ana boy who was riding an e-motorcycle in Garden Grove when he crashed his bike.

Local authorities said the boy may have hit the center median on Magnolia Street near Larson, resulting in the crash.

Authorities did not say whether the child was wearing a helmet nor what his rate of speed was.

Takeuchi said most e-bike trauma cases for both children and adults involve head and neck injuries — a statistic that could change, he said, if more of Orange County's bike-riding population wore helmets.

"People land on their head when they’re falling, so you would think that wearing one is a no brainer for an e-bike," Takeuchi said. "At the same time, when we look at helmet use, we are up to 60 percent in my center, meaning 40 percent don’t wear one."

Mainly, its the adults failing to wear their helmets, Takeuchi said.

"We noticed that if we separate kids and adults, kids are pretty compliant [with wearing helmets]," Takeuchi said. "But the adult population isn't wearing helmets."

If more bike-riding adults wore helmets consistently, Takeuchi believes more children would follow suit.

"It doesn't matter how much you tell your kids to have their helmet on," he said. "If they see you without your helmet on, they aren't going to take it seriously."

While wearing a helmet is ideal, Takeuchi said it's only the first step in addressing the ongoing issue of e-bike injuries and deaths.

Education regarding the different classes of e-bikes and e-motorcycles, government regulations and more are instrumental in shifting the tides against the ongoing rate of injuries and deaths.

"I understand that parents naturally want the most expensive tools for their kids — assuming it's the highest class, so it must be better," Takeuchi said. "In the e-bike territory, it's different."

"What we generally see is that parents are inclined to buy classes two and three, not knowing that class three e-bikes are illegal for people under the age of 17. They need to pay attention to what they actually buy their kids."

It's such a slight distinction, but it's of high importance for kids and parents alike for safety and legal reasons.

An Aliso Viejo mother is facing federal charges for the death of Ed Ashman, the Vietnam War vet who died after her teenage son struck him. According to prosecutors, the woman had been warned about the vehicle's dangers by the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

"The majority of e-bikers [and e-motorcyclists] are losing control and crashing — they're going at a speed that they can't control, and e-bikes are significantly heavier than bicycles," Takeuchi said.

Takeuchi believes that education would be more effective at improving safety than adding new restrictions.

"I think education starts with the adults, the parents — if parents follow the rules and follow the laws, I think they can be a good example for kids to also follow the law."

Takeuchi pointed to a more recent example during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"With COVID, kids didn't have a problem with masks at all — they did it because the adults did it. That's how I think we can educate our kids to do what is right for them."

MORE E-BIKE NEWS IN ORANGE COUNTY:

• OC Mom Faces Manslaughter Charge After Veteran Dies From Teen E-Motorcycle Crash
• When E-Bikes Meet the Law: CA’s Fight Over Safety, Speed, And Accountability
• OC Veteran, 81, Dies After Crash With Teen On E-Motorcycle
• Teen, 14, On E-Motorcycle Hits Man, 81, And Flees Scene In Orange County: OCSD
• E-Bike Runs Down Elderly Woman In Seal Beach
• OC Mom Of Boy, 14, Who Critically Injured Vietnam Vet In E-Moto Hit And Run Charged: DA
• Rising Surf Star And Grandson Of Famed Master Shaper Killed In OC E-Bike Crash
• OC Dad Charged After Son Hurt While Illegally Riding Modified E-Motorcycle, DA Says
• Teens On E-Bikes Tried To Run Down Black UCI Student, Police Say
• Boy, 12, Hit By Car While Riding E-Bike In Orange County: Report
• OC Family Riding E-Bikes Struck, Injured By DUI Driver
• E-Bike Crash Critically Hospitalizes 2 Teens In OC