Did Tommi Jo Mejer allow her 14-year-old son to wield a “deadly weapon” – an e-motorcycle – before he allegedly struck and killed a substitute teacher in Lake Forest?
Mejer, who has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the case, is not the first parent in Orange County or elsewhere to be accused of a crime for what prosecutors say were their children’s reckless actions. They also say she’d previously been warned of the dangers of letting him ride the e-motorcycle.
Taking the parents into criminal court in such cases appears to be a growing trend.
In Contra Costa County, a couple was charged with misdemeanor child abuse after their 17-year-old son was severely injured in a crash in Walnut Creek involving an e-motorcycle. Prosecutors alleged the parents allowed him to ride illegally for years despite repeated citations and warnings from law enforcement.
In Yorba Linda, a father was charged with felony child endangerment and abuse and a misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for allegedly gifting his son an e-motorcycle and then working with the boy to modify it to reach speeds up to 60 mph. The boy ran a red light and was hit by a car in July 2025.
In Westminster, a 51-year-old man is facing misdemeanor child abuse and delinquency charges after allegedly being warned his sons were riding illegally.
See also: OC mom ‘anguished’ after 14-year-old son on e-motorcycle allegedly killed veteran
“Now that California has new laws on the books to address public safety offenses related to e-bikes and e-motos,” Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton said in a statement, “parents must understand the dangers these vehicles can pose to children if operated unlawfully and without proper driver education.”
In December 2025, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office issued a public warning that parents could face criminal liability in cases involving minors and reckless e-bike use.
“Under California Penal Code 273a(a), a parent can be held criminally liable for child endangerment if they provide a minor with an inappropriate e-bike, fail to properly educate them on safe operation, and do not ensure they use required safety equipment — actions that place the child or others at risk of death or great bodily injury,” the DA’s warning said.
Shortly after school let out on April 16, 81-year-old Vietnam veteran and substitute teacher Ed Ashman was struck and left critically injured on a Lake Forest street.
The boy fled the scene, authorities said. He was later apprehended, and less than a week later, the boy’s mother was in handcuffs and facing felony charges in connection with the collision.
District Attorney Todd Spitzer has said targeting parents is one of the few available ways to address what he describes as a rise in dangerous incidents involving young riders.
“This mother essentially handed her 14-year-old son a deadly weapon,” Spitzer said, announcing the charges, “and despite multiple warnings of the dangers, continued to let him illegally ride an E-Motorcycle until he finally killed someone.”
Mejer, 50, of Aliso Viejo, was initially arrested on suspicion of felony child abuse and accessory after the fact, in addition to a slew of misdemeanor charges. After Ashman died from his injuries on April 30, Mejer was charged with one felony count of involuntary manslaughter.
‘Egregious’ case
Loyola Law School professor Laurie L. Levenson said cases like that are rare and typically reserved for the most serious circumstances.
“It’s really important to look at it case by case and only seek charges in the most egregious cases,” Levenson said.
She said the threshold goes beyond what might be considered poor parenting and instead centers on whether a parent was aware of a specific risk and failed to act — particularly when that inaction leads to serious harm.
Levenson said the Lake Forest case appears egregious based on prosecutors’ allegations that the mother had previously been warned about her son’s dangerous riding behavior and later told deputies that neither she nor her son owned or had access to the e-motorcycle involved in the crash.
See also: Amazon stops its sales of high-speed e-bikes in California
It was the third criminal case filed in Orange County since January involving parents charged in connection with their children’s illegal use of e-bikes or e-motorcycles.
Last month, charges were filed against the Yorba Linda father after his 12-year-old son was seriously injured in a crash while riding a modified e-motorcycle capable of high speeds. The boy suffered several injuries, including a concussion, skull fracture, broken wrist and fractured femur, prosecutors said.
The father was accused of felony child endangerment and abuse as well as a misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and could face up to six years in prison if convicted.
In Westminster, another father was charged with misdemeanor child abuse and delinquency after allegedly being warned that his sons were riding illegally, court records show. No injuries were reported in that case, and the father pleaded not guilty.
Shirin Bakhshay, an assistant professor at the UCLA School of Law, said prosecutions targeting parents in connection with their children’s actions are fairly new and appear to reflect frustration among authorities who believe current laws and public education efforts have not been effective in stopping dangerous behavior involving e-bikes and e-motorcycles.
“Charging parents is relatively new,” Bakhshay said. “Our last resort is to criminalize parents.”
Bakhshay noted that parents have long faced charges such as contributing to the delinquency of a minor, but said the Orange County case goes further.
“So she’s not being charged with being a negligent parent,” Bakhshay said of the Orange County case. “She’s being charged with a substantive crime.”
Bakhshay said prosecutors will ultimately have to prove not just that the mother acted negligently, but that her actions were directly connected to Ashman’s death — a significantly higher legal hurdle than proving the other charges filed in the case.
She also questioned the legal consistency of charging both the juvenile and the parent.
“I think when you’re charging the kid independently, you’re saying this person is responsible for their conduct,” Bakhshay said. “And so, I think it’s pretty inconsistent to then say, also, the mom is responsible.”
Whatever charges the 14-year-old may face have not been announced because he is a minor.
Safety concerns grow
A 13-year-old boy riding an off-highway e-motorcycle at an estimated 35 mph died Thursday in Garden Grove after crashing into a center median and being thrown from the vehicle, authorities said, underscoring ongoing concerns about the popularity of high-powered electric motorcycles among young riders.
Police say e-bikes and e-motorcycles are often mistaken for one another, but speed capabilities can vary greatly between the two types.
See also: e-bike or e-moto? Here’s how to tell the difference
Off-road electric motorcycles, which are equipped with pegs instead of pedals, are not legal to ride on public streets in California.
In contrast, some e-bikes, specifically Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes that are pedal-assisted, can be ridden by children under 16 years old with a helmet and have a maximum speed of 20 mph, according to state law.
Class 3 e-bikes, which can reach 28 mph, are limited to riders ages 16 and older, with those under 18 years old required to wear a helmet.
As concerns over e-bike and e-motorcycle safety increase, lawmakers have also pushed for stricter regulations and clearer accountability.
Earlier this year, Rep. Dave Min (D-Irvine) introduced federal legislation aimed at establishing comprehensive standards and labeling requirements for e-bikes and e-motorcycles.
Min said improving safety will likely require both regulation and criminal enforcement in some situations.
“I believe we need to take a holistic approach to improving e-bike safety, which includes prosecution, when warranted, as well as regulation to ensure there are consumer product safety standards in place,” Min said.
Several new laws also took effect statewide Jan. 1, including a ban on speed-modifying devices, restrictions on the sale of certain high-speed e-bikes to riders under 16, and provisions making it easier for law enforcement to seize illegally modified bikes.
‘We’ll see more’
Bakhshay pointed to the high-profile, Michigan prosecution of Jennifer Crumbley and James Crumbley, parents of convicted school shooter Ethan Crumbley, as a major turning point in holding parents criminally accountable — though she noted the circumstances differed significantly from the Orange County case.
In Michigan, Ethan Crumbley was charged and sentenced as an adult before prosecutors pursued involuntary manslaughter charges against his parents. The Crumbleys were sentenced in 2024 after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter, becoming the first parents in the United States to be held criminally responsible in a mass school shooting.
Bakhshay also pointed to the prosecution of Colin Gray, the Georgia father convicted in connection with a school shooting carried out by his son.
“In two years, two high-profile cases like that might not seem like an alarming trend, but these are the first of their sort,” Bakhshay said. “I do suspect we’ll see more.”