Five parents in Orange County accused of allowing their children to ride electric motorcycles illegally have been charged with child endangerment.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer on Wednesday announced the filing of child endangerment charges against a father whose 11-year-old son broke bones and suffered an aortic bleed when his speeding e-motorcycle collided with a pickup truck, and a mother whose 9-year-old was hit by a truck while speeding on an e-motorcycle.
The DA also charged the adult brother of a 15-year-old who allegedly refused commands from La Palma police to pull over and instead drove away at 40 mph, launching a police pursuit, running red lights and nearly crashing into several cars before losing control and veering into some bushes.
Alex Li of Yorba Linda was charged with a misdemeanor count of child endangerment that alleges he allowed his 11-year-old son to ride an e-motorcycle with a more powerful 1200-watt motor, which is over the 750-watt limit for an e-bicycle, prosecutors said. Li faces a maximum sentence of one year in Orange County Jail if convicted for the June crash with the pickup truck.
Maria Dolores Roehling’s 9-year-old son was speeding on his e-motorcycle capable of going faster than 47 mph when he was hit by a pickup truck, prosecutors said. The child’s Instagram account showed him doing wheelies on residential streets, and he posted on social media about a crash he had just a few weeks before the accident, prosecutors said.
Roehling faces charges of one felony count of child endangerment and an infraction of allowing a child under the age of 18 to drive a motor vehicle without a license. If convicted, she could face a maximum sentence of six years in state prison.
Spitzer said he doesn’t want to prosecute parents, but when “parents refuse to parent and tell their kids ‘no’ when it comes to riding something that is dangerous and illegal” then he has “no choice” but to file criminal charges to hold parents accountable.
“Kids are getting seriously injured and killed, and I refuse to allow another child to be hurt or killed because I didn’t do everything I could to send a message that these vehicles are not child’s play,” Spitzer said in a statement. “If you’re going to hand the keys to a deadly weapon to your child, then be prepared to face the consequences of your actions.”
The new charges come after the parents of an Orange County 13-year-old Benson Nguyen were charged earlier this week in a fatal May crash where he lost control of his e-motorcycle going more than 40 mph and struck a concrete light pole in Garden Grove.
Prosecutors said Nguyen had been repeatedly injured in electric motorcycle incidents before dying in the May crash, and that he was seen speeding, running red lights and doing wheelies on his e-motorcycle shortly before he hit a raised center divider. He was ejected into the air before he collided with the light pole, prosecutors said.
Included in new charges announced Wednesday was Dan Rezmives, whose 12-year-old son was seen riding a Surron Light Bee e-motorcycle on a public street, prosecutors said. A police officer had allegedly previously warned Rezmives and his son that it was illegal to ride an e-motorcycle on city streets.
Prosecutors said Rezmives said the vehicle was a Christmas present, and he was charged with one misdemeanor count of child endangerment, one misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, as well as an infraction of allowing a minor to drive without a license.
Parents Hulin Guo and Xianomin Wang were each charged with two misdemeanors and an infraction after they were repeatedly warned of the dangers of allowing their child to ride an e-motorcycle, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors accused their 17-year-old son of leading Newport Beach police in a pursuit in May, driving more than 40 mph while weaving around pedestrians on sidewalks and driving in the wrong direction on city streets.
Prosecutors said he had refused to pull over for a traffic stop. Police ended the pursuit before being able to stop the minor, but prosecutors said authorities later identified the 17-year-old as the rider and served the family a search warrant.
In September of 2023, officers allegedly found the couple’s son hiding in bushes after he and others riding their e-motorcycles ignored officers’ commands to stop reckless riding. A year later, on Halloween, the couple’s son was tackled off his e-motorcycle by an officer for doing wheelies on residential streets crowded with trick-or-treaters, prosecutors said.
Parents received warnings on those occasions, and their son’s e-motorcycles have been impounded twice, prosecutors said.
E-bike and e-motorcycle injuries are now the No. 1 reason children in Orange County end up in the emergency room, the DA’s office said, with injuries skyrocketing more than 430% in Southern California in just the last four years.
Unlike an e-bicycle, the e-motorcycle requires a valid motorcycle license to use on the street, including a DMV registration, a license plate, insurance and full motorcycle equipment.
An e-motorcycle can be driven without a license if operated on private property or in off-road-vehicle areas.
Staff writer Andrew Campa contributed to this report.
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