<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/usa" rel="" target="" title="California "><span>California </span></a><span>woman has been charged with manslaughter after an 81-year-old man who was struck by her teen son on an e-motorcycle died from his injuries, prosecutors said on Friday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>On April 16, Tommi Jo Mejer's 14-year-old son was riding a Surron e-</span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/cycling" rel="" target="" title="motorcycle "><span>motorcycle </span></a><span>and doing wheelies when he hit Ed Ashman, according to prosecutors. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ashman, a former captain in the US Marine Corps, was walking home from his job as a substitute teacher at a high school in Lake Forest.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-to-withdraw-5000-troops-from-germany-in-next-612-months-fulfilling-trumps-threat/738bcf41-6738-4769-a00a-f2f63b36966e"><strong><span>US to withdraw 5000 troops from Germany, fulfilling Trump's threat</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He was critically injured and died on Thursday, and Mejer, of Aliso Viejo in Orange County, was charged with involuntary manslaughter as a result on top of a previous count of felony child endangerment.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“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.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Mejer has not yet appeared in court, and there was no public defender listed in records for her. </span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/usa-california-woman-charged-with-manslaughter-e-motorcycle/45b24c54-1a4e-4b5f-8bcb-d2352f1d8b06" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/federal-budget-2026-what-to-expect-signficant-changes-announcements-explainer/94106a49-6102-447d-bb6a-53aabc1d4a5f"><strong><span>Thousands of Aussies could lose popular $22 billion tax break in just 10 days</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The District Attorney’s Office gave The Associated Press the name of a private attorney who may be representing Mejer; that person did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>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.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In June 2025, prosecutors said, Mejer called the Sheriff’s Department to complain that someone was posting pictures of her son riding the e-motorcycle. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In an interaction with deputies that was recorded by body camera, she said she bought the vehicle and “knew that he drove it recklessly.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She was warned by deputies that she could face criminal charges for letting him ride it illegally, prosecutors said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A bike is classified as an e-motorcycle under state law in California if it has an electric motor with more than 750 watts of power or can reach speeds above 32 kph without having to pedal. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Riders are required to be at least 16 years old and have a motorcycle license.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/iran-war-donald-trump-war-powers-deadline-what-comes-next/6336071e-7897-4df9-9fb8-27633164ec71"><strong><span>Iran hostilities 'terminated' as Trump seeks to dodge Congress showdown</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Surron e-motorcycle in question is capable of 90 kph speeds, according to manufacturers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In the hours after the April collision, Mejer told deputies that neither she nor her son owned a Surron e-motorcycle or had access to one, prosecutors said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The district attorney's office said it could not discuss whether the boy will face prosecution because it is a juvenile case.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Orange County prosecutors have filed child endangerment charges against three parents this year for letting children ride e-motorcycles illegally. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And in Contra Costa County, in Northern California, parents were charged after their child crashed into a minivan.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In the past, prosecutions of parents were typically seen in truancy cases since the law specifically mentions their liability, said Lawrence Rosenthal, a law professor at Chapman University.</span></div></div><div class="styles__Wrapper-sc-2o34ro-0 cmwkBV"><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><a href="/content/2025/05/01/10/42/today-in-history-may-2-what-happened-on-this-day"><img alt="" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 636px, (min-width: 768px) 396px, 100vw" src="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/6n2z12x54jFZdQiYGKlY38Vb-Rc=/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F3b5ac48f-6957-44b8-9735-b9c8bdf09120" srcset="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/6n2z12x54jFZdQiYGKlY38Vb-Rc=/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F3b5ac48f-6957-44b8-9735-b9c8bdf09120 396w, https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/W5ozUxJVYyZpN6luC12g6xTRzz0=/636x358/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F3b5ac48f-6957-44b8-9735-b9c8bdf09120 636w"/></a></div><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><div class="styles__Headline-sc-2o34ro-4 hpbOlz">Acclaimed actor's drinking contest leaves everyone else with a headache</div><div class="styles__Button-sc-2o34ro-1 eBjlmW"><a class="styles__ButtonLink-sc-2o34ro-2 hqpklJ" href="/content/2025/05/01/10/42/today-in-history-may-2-what-happened-on-this-day">View Gallery</a></div></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But parental criminal liability in other circumstances has gained attention in recent years, especially in prosecutions and convictions related to shootings committed by minors.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“This is a very new theory. There’s not a long, robust history,” Rosenthal said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In the cases involving shootings, prosecutors have to prove that the parent committed some act of “criminal negligence” that led to a death, such as providing access to a gun, according to Rosenthal.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However the legal theories that were used might be more difficult to prove in e-motorcycle cases, Rosenthal said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Prosecutors will have to show that parents knew the risk of an e-motorcycle when letting their child ride one, and firearms represent a “far easier-to-grasp threat to human life.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“Is it reasonably foreseeable that a child’s going to kill somebody?” Rosenthal said.</span></div></div>