From Newsgroup: rec.bicycles.tech

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: April 22, 2026
Case # 26HF1029
PRESS RELEASE
Kimberly Edds Director of Public Affairs Office: 714-347-8405, Cell: 714-504-1917 media@ocdapa.org

Aliso Viejo Mother Charged with Felony Child Endangerment After Vietnam
Veteran Critically Injured When He Was Hit by Woman's 14-Year-old Son
Illegally Riding an E-Motorcycle 16 Times More Powerful than E-Bike
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer warns parents he will
prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law when they allow their
children to ride illegal motor vehicles and endanger their safety and
the safety of others. SANTA ANA, Calif. - An Aliso Viejo mother who had
been repeatedly warned of the dangers of continuing to allow her middle
school son to illegally ride an E-motorcycle has been charged with
felony child endangerment and felony accessory after the fact of a crime
after her 14-year-old son hit and critically injured an 81-year-old
Vietnam veteran while the boy was doing wheelies on an E-motorcycle in
Lake Forest. The victim remains hospitalized in critical condition.

Since January, the Orange County District Attorney's Office has filed
child endangerment charges against three parents for allowing their
children to illegally ride E-motorcycles, including against a Yorba
Linda father whose 12-year-old son was critically injured after he ran a
red light and was hit by a car while riding an Emotorcycle which had
been modified to go up to 60 miles per hour, after the boy and his
father had been warned about the dangers of children riding
E-motorcycles illegally. He faces a maximum sentence of six years in
state prison if convicted on all counts.

Tommi Jo Mejer, 50, of Aliso Viejo, has been charged with one felony
count of child endangerment, one felony count of accessory after the
fact to a crime, one misdemeanor count of contributing to the
delinquency of a minor, one misdemeanor count of loaning a motor vehicle
to an unlicensed driver, and one misdemeanor count of providing false information to a peace officer. She faces a maximum sentence of six
years and eight months in state prison if convicted on all counts.

Mejer was arrested by the Orange County Sheriff's Department on Tuesday
at the Lamoreaux Justice Center in Orange. On Thursday, April 16, 2026,
around 4 p.m., Orange County Sheriff's deputies were called to respond
to Toledo Way and Ridge Route Drive, which borders El Toro High School,
for a pedestrian hit by an Emotorcycle.

The victim, later identified as an 81-year-old substitute teacher and
captain in the United States Marine Corps who flew combat missions in
Vietnam, was critically injured after being hit by a teenage boy doing
wheelies in the middle of the street. The rider of the Surron
E-motorcycle left the scene of the collision.

In June 2025, Mejer called the Orange County Sheriff's Department to
complain that someone was posting pictures of her then-13-year-old son
riding an E-motorcycle. During a 28-minute interaction with two Orange
County Sheriff's deputies captured on body worn camera, Mejer admitted
that she purchased her son a Surron E-motorcycle and knew that he drove
it recklessly. The deputies warned her that she could face potential
criminal charges if she continued to allow him to ride the E-motorcycle
which he could not legally ride.

Riders of Class 3 E-motorcycles must be 16 years of age and possess a motorcycle license.

A law enforcement inspection of the 2025 Surron Ultra Bee, the vehicle
involved in last week's collision, revealed the vehicle is classified as
a motor-driven cycle under CVC section 405 or a motorcycle under CVC
section 400. Both classifications require a valid motorcycle license for
street operation, as well as DMV registration, license plate, insurance
and full motorcycle equipment. Without complying with these
requirements, the only approved use of this E-motorcycle is either on
private property or properly registered as Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV)
areas.

The Surron Ultra Bee is marketed as an off-road E-motorcycle capable of
going up to speeds of 58 miles per hour and accelerating from 0-31 miles
per hour in 2.3 seconds. With a peak power of 12.5kW, the output of a
Surron Ultra Bee is 16 times more powerful than what is legally allowed
for an E-bike.

Hours after the collision, Mejer is seen on body worn camera repeatedly
telling Orange County Sheriff's deputies investigating the injury crash
that neither she nor her teenage son own a Surron or have access to one.

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. Electric
bicycles with Class 1 or Class 2 designations do not have rider age or licensing restrictions; e-bikes with Class 3 designations require riders
to be aged 16 or older.

Generally, an electric bike that does not qualify as Class 1, 2 or 3,
will be classified as an electric motorcycle. That means either that the
bike has an electric motor that exceeds 750 watts of power or can reach
speeds higher than 20-mph on motor power alone. Additionally, if the
bike is not equipped with fully operable pedals, or if it has been
modified to reach speeds higher than 20-mph or to attain power higher
than 750 watts, the bike cannot be designated an electric bike and
instead would be considered an E-motorcycle.

Per Welfare and Institutions Code Sections 827 and 828, the District
Attorney's Office is prohibited from disclosing the name of juveniles
involved in criminal investigations or discussing juvenile
investigations.

"Parents who buy their child an E-motorcycle and let them ride them
illegally or help modify e-Bikes to transform them into E-motorcycles
are handing their children a loaded weapon - and those parents are going
to be prosecuted. That is not a threat. That is a promise," said Orange
County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. "This 81-year-old man survived
flying combat missions in Vietnam protecting freedom and now he is
clinging to life because a mother refused to parent her child and he was
run over in the street by a vehicle that should have never been on the
road. There is absolutely no reason that an unlicensed, untrained child
with no concept of the rules of the road should be riding a motorcycle
that can go up to nearly 60 miles per hour next to cars on a public
street and think that by some miracle they are going to be safe. The
state Legislature has made it virtually impossible for prosecutors to
hold juveniles accountable for committing serious crimes, and the only
way to stop the carnage E-Bikes and E-motorcycles are causing across
Orange County is to hold parents accountable for the crimes they allow
their children to commit."

Senior Deputy District Attorney Noor Hasan of the Family Protection Unit
is prosecuting this case.

###

https://orangecountyda.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Tommi-Jo-Mejer.pdf

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From Newsgroup: rec.bicycles.tech

On 25 Apr 2026, "B. Clark" <no@mercy.org> posted some news:fe9cef006474b2eebc97df6f1f38dbc2@dizum.com:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: April 22, 2026
Case # 26HF1029
PRESS RELEASE
Kimberly Edds Director of Public Affairs Office: 714-347-8405, Cell: 714-504-1917 media@ocdapa.org

Aliso Viejo Mother Charged with Felony Child Endangerment After
Vietnam Veteran Critically Injured When He Was Hit by Woman's
14-Year-old Son Illegally Riding an E-Motorcycle 16 Times More
Powerful than E-Bike Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer
warns parents he will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law
when they allow their children to ride illegal motor vehicles and
endanger their safety and the safety of others. SANTA ANA, Calif. - An
Aliso Viejo mother who had been repeatedly warned of the dangers of continuing to allow her middle school son to illegally ride an
E-motorcycle has been charged with felony child endangerment and
felony accessory after the fact of a crime after her 14-year-old son
hit and critically injured an 81-year-old Vietnam veteran while the
boy was doing wheelies on an E-motorcycle in Lake Forest. The victim
remains hospitalized in critical condition.

Since January, the Orange County District Attorney's Office has filed
child endangerment charges against three parents for allowing their
children to illegally ride E-motorcycles, including against a Yorba
Linda father whose 12-year-old son was critically injured after he ran
a red light and was hit by a car while riding an Emotorcycle which had
been modified to go up to 60 miles per hour, after the boy and his
father had been warned about the dangers of children riding
E-motorcycles illegally. He faces a maximum sentence of six years in
state prison if convicted on all counts.

Tommi Jo Mejer, 50, of Aliso Viejo, has been charged with one felony
count of child endangerment, one felony count of accessory after the
fact to a crime, one misdemeanor count of contributing to the
delinquency of a minor, one misdemeanor count of loaning a motor
vehicle to an unlicensed driver, and one misdemeanor count of
providing false information to a peace officer. She faces a maximum
sentence of six years and eight months in state prison if convicted on
all counts.

Mejer was arrested by the Orange County Sheriff's Department on
Tuesday at the Lamoreaux Justice Center in Orange. On Thursday, April
16, 2026, around 4 p.m., Orange County Sheriff's deputies were called
to respond to Toledo Way and Ridge Route Drive, which borders El Toro
High School, for a pedestrian hit by an Emotorcycle.

The victim, later identified as an 81-year-old substitute teacher and
captain in the United States Marine Corps who flew combat missions in Vietnam, was critically injured after being hit by a teenage boy doing wheelies in the middle of the street. The rider of the Surron
E-motorcycle left the scene of the collision.

In June 2025, Mejer called the Orange County Sheriff's Department to
complain that someone was posting pictures of her then-13-year-old son
riding an E-motorcycle. During a 28-minute interaction with two Orange
County Sheriff's deputies captured on body worn camera, Mejer admitted
that she purchased her son a Surron E-motorcycle and knew that he
drove it recklessly. The deputies warned her that she could face
potential criminal charges if she continued to allow him to ride the E-motorcycle which he could not legally ride.

Riders of Class 3 E-motorcycles must be 16 years of age and possess a motorcycle license.

A law enforcement inspection of the 2025 Surron Ultra Bee, the vehicle involved in last week's collision, revealed the vehicle is classified
as a motor-driven cycle under CVC section 405 or a motorcycle under
CVC section 400. Both classifications require a valid motorcycle
license for street operation, as well as DMV registration, license
plate, insurance and full motorcycle equipment. Without complying with
these requirements, the only approved use of this E-motorcycle is
either on private property or properly registered as Off-Highway
Vehicle (OHV) areas.

The Surron Ultra Bee is marketed as an off-road E-motorcycle capable
of going up to speeds of 58 miles per hour and accelerating from 0-31
miles per hour in 2.3 seconds. With a peak power of 12.5kW, the output
of a Surron Ultra Bee is 16 times more powerful than what is legally
allowed for an E-bike.

Hours after the collision, Mejer is seen on body worn camera
repeatedly telling Orange County Sheriff's deputies investigating the
injury crash that neither she nor her teenage son own a Surron or have
access to one.

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. Electric bicycles with Class 1 or Class 2 designations do not have rider age or licensing restrictions; e-bikes with Class 3 designations require
riders to be aged 16 or older.

Generally, an electric bike that does not qualify as Class 1, 2 or 3,
will be classified as an electric motorcycle. That means either that
the bike has an electric motor that exceeds 750 watts of power or can
reach speeds higher than 20-mph on motor power alone. Additionally, if
the bike is not equipped with fully operable pedals, or if it has been modified to reach speeds higher than 20-mph or to attain power higher
than 750 watts, the bike cannot be designated an electric bike and
instead would be considered an E-motorcycle.

Per Welfare and Institutions Code Sections 827 and 828, the District Attorney's Office is prohibited from disclosing the name of juveniles involved in criminal investigations or discussing juvenile
investigations.

"Parents who buy their child an E-motorcycle and let them ride them
illegally or help modify e-Bikes to transform them into E-motorcycles
are handing their children a loaded weapon - and those parents are
going to be prosecuted. That is not a threat. That is a promise," said
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. "This 81-year-old man
survived flying combat missions in Vietnam protecting freedom and now
he is clinging to life because a mother refused to parent her child
and he was run over in the street by a vehicle that should have never
been on the road. There is absolutely no reason that an unlicensed,
untrained child with no concept of the rules of the road should be
riding a motorcycle that can go up to nearly 60 miles per hour next to
cars on a public street and think that by some miracle they are going
to be safe. The state Legislature has made it virtually impossible for prosecutors to hold juveniles accountable for committing serious
crimes, and the only way to stop the carnage E-Bikes and E-motorcycles
are causing across Orange County is to hold parents accountable for
the crimes they allow their children to commit."

Senior Deputy District Attorney Noor Hasan of the Family Protection
Unit is prosecuting this case.

###

https://orangecountyda.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Tommi-Jo-Mejer.pd
f

The adults are worse than the kids.
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