A southern California woman is facing an additional charge of involuntary manslaughter after an 81-year-old man died from injuries sustained when he was struck by the woman's teenage son riding an e-motorcycle, prosecutors announced on Friday.
Incident Details
On 16 April, Tommi Jo Mejer's 14-year-old son was riding a Surron e-motorcycle and performing wheelies when he collided with Ed Ashman, according to prosecutors. Ashman, a former US Marine Corps captain, was walking home from his job as a substitute teacher at a high school in Lake Forest.
He suffered critical injuries and died on Thursday. Mejer, of Aliso Viejo in Orange County, was subsequently charged with involuntary manslaughter in addition to a previous count of felony child endangerment.
Prosecutor's Statement
“This mother essentially handed her 14-year-old son a deadly weapon, and despite multiple warnings of the dangers, continued to let him illegally ride an e-motorcycle until he finally killed someone,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement.
Mejer has not yet appeared in court, and no public defender is listed in records for her. The district attorney's office provided the Associated Press with the name of a private attorney who may represent Mejer; that person did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Additional Charges
Mejer was also charged with felony accessory after the fact and misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and providing false information to an officer. If convicted on all counts, she could face up to seven years and eight months in prison, prosecutors said.
Previous Warnings
In June 2025, prosecutors said, Mejer called the sheriff's department to complain about someone posting pictures of her son riding the e-motorcycle. During a body camera-recorded interaction with deputies, she admitted buying the vehicle and “knew that he drove it recklessly.” Deputies warned her that she could face criminal charges for allowing him to ride it illegally.
Legal Classification of E-Motorcycles
Under state law, a bike is classified as an e-motorcycle if it has an electric motor with more than 750 watts of power or can reach speeds above 20 mph (32 km/h) without pedaling. Riders must be at least 16 years old and possess a motorcycle license. The boy's e-motorcycle, a 2025 Surron Ultra Bee, can reach a top speed of 56 mph (90 km/h), according to the manufacturer.
False Statements
In the hours following the April collision, Mejer told deputies that neither she nor her son owned a Surron e-motorcycle or had access to one, prosecutors said.
The district attorney's office said it could not discuss whether the boy will face prosecution because it is a juvenile case.
Parental Liability Trends
Orange County prosecutors have filed child endangerment charges against three parents this year for allowing children to ride e-motorcycles illegally. In Contra Costa County, northern California, parents were charged after their child crashed into a minivan.
Lawrence Rosenthal, a law professor at Chapman University, noted that past prosecutions of parents were typically seen in truancy cases due to specific legal liability. However, parental criminal liability in other contexts has gained attention recently, especially in shootings committed by minors.
“This is a very new theory. There’s not a long, robust history,” Rosenthal said.
In shooting cases, prosecutors must prove that the parent committed an act of “criminal negligence” leading to a death, such as providing access to a gun. However, these legal theories may be harder to prove in e-motorcycle cases, Rosenthal said. Prosecutors must show that parents knew the risk of an e-motorcycle when allowing their child to ride one, and firearms represent a “far easier-to-grasp threat to human life.”
“Is it reasonably foreseeable that a child’s going to kill somebody?” Rosenthal asked.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.
