Parents in Southern California are facing criminal charges over allegations that they allowed their children to ride electric motorcycles illegally, amid concern about serious crashes involving e-motos.
The Orange County district attorney’s office has brought charges against 12 parents this year. Prosecutors say the children were permitted to use e-motos, which have more powerful motors than electric bicycles.
In California, children under 16 are prohibited from riding the vehicles. Videos shared on social media have shown groups of children riding e-motos illegally, sometimes performing stunts on busy roads.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said the prosecutions were intended to deter other parents from allowing their children to use the motorcycles.
“I need to send a message in order to save other kids’ lives and to make sure other parents are taking responsibility for their children,” Mr Spitzer told CBS News.
Among those charged are the parents of 13-year-old Benson Nguyen, who had posted videos of himself performing risky tricks on his TikTok channel.
Police said that in May, Nguyen was riding his e-moto recklessly at more than 40mph in Garden Grove, Orange County, when he lost control and crashed into a light pole. He was taken to hospital, where he died from his injuries.
His mother and father were charged with child endangerment. The raw source material does not indicate whether they have entered pleas.
Mr Spitzer said he did not want to prosecute parents but believed consequences were necessary when the law had been broken.
“I am a human being. I’ve raised two kids,” he said. “We have to understand that when you break the law, especially as serious as this is, there has to be consequences.”
Figures from the Orange County district attorney’s office attribute more than 125 deaths and tens of thousands of injuries across the United States to e-bikes and e-motos.
The office said e-bikes and e-motos are now the leading cause of juvenile emergency room visits in Orange County.
“You shouldn’t furnish your kid a gun not understanding what they might do with that weapon,” Mr Spitzer said. “And you certainly shouldn’t furnish a vehicle like an e-bike or an e-motorcycle.”
