Criminal charges filed in fatal e-bike case in Orange County

By now you may have read the news. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office has filed involuntary manslaughter charges against Tommi Jo Mejer. She is the Orange County mother of a 14-year-old boy who hit Ed Ashman with his e-bike. Ashman died of his injuries.

This story is tragic on so many levels.

Ed Ashman was an 81-year-old Marine Corps veteran who served honorably in Vietnam.

As District Attorney Todd Spitzer describes it, “An American hero who survived flying combat missions in Vietnam could not survive walking across the street in Lake Forest because of a 14-year-old child who was allowed to ride an e-motorcycle that he should have never been riding.”

The teenaged boy responsible for the collision fled the scene. Deputies were able to track him down. It turns out, his mother Tommi Jo was warned by law enforcement to stop allowing her son to ride his illegal e-bike.

We spoke about e-bike crashes being on the rise a short time ago.

California law distinguishes between e-bikes and E-motorcycles based on three main features: the power limit of its motor, its maximum speed limit, and whether it is equipped with operable pedals.

You can read the District Attorney’s Press release here.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Mr. Ashman’s loved ones. The case is a tragic reminder of how deadly e-bike crashes can be.

For questions about your Los Angeles e-bike crash injury case, my office is ready to assist, 24/6.