A Ventura juvenile allegedly speeding up to 60 mph on an electric motorcycle on the wrong side of the highway has been charged with a pair of felonies, authorities announced Tuesday.
The Ventura County district attoney’s office brought eight total counts against the minor, a male Ventura resident who was not identified due to his age. Charges include one felony count each for evading a peace officer and evading an officer while driving the wrong way.
Prosecutors also filed two additional misdemeanor counts of reckless driving and operating a motorcycle without a valid license, along with four infractions that include driving the wrong way on a divided roadway.
The youngster is scheduled to be arraigned at the Juvenile Justice Center in Oxnard on July 20.
Ventura police officers involved in an e-bike sting operation at Ventura Community Park on June 10 attempted to stop the juvenile riding his e-motorcycle on the park grass, according to authorities.
Authorities from throughout Southern California have faced a spat of e-bike and e-motorcycle incidents, including a teen who led Orange County law enforcement on a chase last month.
When police tried to stop the Ventura youngster, he fled and rode northbound in the southbound lanes of Kimball Road, while weaving through traffic. He eventually rode the wrong way onto the northbound State Route 126 off-ramp, authorities said.
The youngster then entered the westbound State Route 126 on-ramp before exiting again at Victoria Avenue while allegedly blowing through a stop sign. The driver continued northbound in the southbound lanes of Victoria Avenue before eventually stopping at Buena High School, according to authorities.
Joey Buttitta, a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office, did not confirm if the driver was a student at the high school.
The rider reached speeds of 60 mph while traveling in the wrong direction, according to Buttitta.
The driver successfully and momentarily evaded officers, who found his abandoned motorcycle, valued at $5,000, in a nearby alley, according to Buttitta.
The teen’s luck ran out, however. He and his stepfather arrived at the scene later in the day to retrieve the motorcycle, with police still in the area. He was cited and released.
“They came back to bring the bike home,” Buttitta said. The motorcycle was subsequently impounded.
The Ventura County district attorney’s office noted that electric motorcycles differ from electric bikes because the former must abide by the same regulations as a traditional motorcycle rider. That means owners must have a license, registration, insurance and helmets.
Police conducted the sting in response to more than 100 calls for service this year involving minors riding electric bikes and motorcycles in an unsafe manner, according to the district attorney’s office.
The post Ventura teen who fled officers the wrong way on the freeway is charged with two felonies appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
