SANTA ANA, Calif. – An Aliso Viejo mother who had been repeatedly warned of the dangers of continuing to allow her middle school son to illegally ride an E-motorcycle has been charged with felony child endangerment and felony accessory after the fact of a crime after her 14-year-old son hit and critically injured Ed Ashman, an 81-year-old Vietnam veteran, while the boy was doing wheelies on an E-motorcycle in Lake Forest. The victim remains hospitalized in critical condition.
Since January, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office has filed child endangerment charges against three parents for allowing their children to illegally ride E-motorcycles, including against a Yorba Linda father whose 12-year-old son was critically injured after he ran a red light and was hit by a car while riding an E-motorcycle which had been modified to go up to 60 miles per hour, after the boy and his father had been warned about the dangers of children riding E-motorcycles illegally. He faces a maximum sentence of six years in state prison if convicted on all counts.
Tommi Jo Mejer, 50, of Aliso Viejo, has been charged with one felony count of child endangerment, one felony count of accessory after the fact to a crime, one misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, one misdemeanor count of loaning a motor vehicle to an unlicensed driver, and one misdemeanor count of providing false information to a peace officer. She faces a maximum sentence of six years and eight months in state prison if convicted on all counts.
Mejer was arrested by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department on Tuesday at the Lamoreaux Justice Center in Orange.
On Thursday, April 16, 2026, around 4 p.m., Orange County Sheriff’s deputies were called to respond to Toledo Way and Ridge Route Drive, which borders El Toro High School, for a pedestrian hit by an E-motorcycle.
The victim, later identified as an 81-year-old substitute teacher and captain in the United States Marine Corps who flew combat missions in Vietnam, was critically injured after being hit by a teenage boy doing wheelies in the middle of the street. The rider of the Surron E-motorcycle left the scene of the collision.
In June 2025, Mejer called the Orange County Sheriff’s Department to complain that someone was posting pictures of her then-13-year-old son riding an E-motorcycle. During a 28-minute interaction with two Orange County Sheriff’s deputies captured on body worn camera, Mejer admitted that she purchased her son a Surron E-motorcycle and knew that he drove it recklessly. The deputies warned her that she could face potential criminal charges if she continued to allow him to ride the E-motorcycle which he could not legally ride.
Riders of Class 3 E-motorcycles must be 16 years of age and possess a motorcycle license.
A law enforcement inspection of the 2025 Surron Ultra Bee, the vehicle involved in last week’s collision, revealed the vehicle is classified as a motor-driven cycle under CVC section 405 or a motorcycle under CVC section 400. Both classifications require a valid motorcycle license for street operation, as well as DMV registration, license plate, insurance and full motorcycle equipment. Without complying with these requirements, the only approved use of this E-motorcycle is either on private property or properly registered as Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) areas.
The Surron Ultra Bee is marketed as an off-road E-motorcycle capable of going up to speeds of 58 miles per hour and accelerating from 0-31 miles per hour in 2.3 seconds. With a peak power of 12.5kW, the output of a Surron Ultra Bee is 16 times more powerful than what is legally allowed for an E-bike.
Hours after the collision, Mejer is seen on body worn camera repeatedly telling Orange County Sheriff’s deputies investigating the injury crash that neither she nor her teenage son own a Surron or have access to one.
California law distinguishes between e-bikes and E-motorcycles based on three main features: the power limit of its motor, its maximum speed limit, and whether it is equipped with operable pedals. Electric bicycles with Class 1 or Class 2 designations do not have rider age or licensing restrictions; e-bikes with Class 3 designations require riders to be aged 16 or older.
Generally, an electric bike that does not qualify as Class 1, 2 or 3, will be classified as an electric motorcycle. That means either that the bike has an electric motor that exceeds 750 watts of power or can reach speeds higher than 20-mph on motor power alone. Additionally, if the bike is not equipped with fully operable pedals, or if it has been modified to reach speeds higher than 20-mph or to attain power higher than 750 watts, the bike cannot be designated an electric bike and instead would be considered an E-motorcycle.
Per Welfare and Institutions Code Sections 827 and 828, the District Attorney’s Office is prohibited from disclosing the name of juveniles involved in criminal investigations or discussing juvenile investigations.
“Parents who buy their child an E-motorcycle and let them ride them illegally or help modify e-Bikes to transform them into E-motorcycles are handing their children a loaded weapon – and those parents are going to be prosecuted. That is not a threat. That is a promise,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “This 81-year-old man survived flying combat missions in Vietnam protecting freedom and now he is clinging to life because a mother refused to parent her child and he was run over in the street by a vehicle that should have never been on the road. There is absolutely no reason that an unlicensed, untrained child with no concept of the rules of the road should be riding a motorcycle that can go up to nearly 60 miles per hour next to cars on a public street and think that by some miracle they are going to be safe. The state Legislature has made it virtually impossible for prosecutors to hold juveniles accountable for committing serious crimes, and the only way to stop the carnage E-Bikes and E-motorcycles are causing across Orange County is to hold parents accountable for the crimes they allow their children to commit.”
Senior Deputy District Attorney Noor Hasan of the Family Protection Unit is prosecuting this case.
Legal Charges and Penalties Faced by the Suspect
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office has charged Mejer with multiple offenses related to her 14-year-old son’s hit-and-run collision on an illegal electric motorcycle:
- Felony Child Endangerment: One count.
- Felony Accessory After the Fact: One count.
- Misdemeanor Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor: One count.
- Misdemeanor Loaning a Motor Vehicle to an Unlicensed Driver: One count.
- Misdemeanor Providing False Information to a Peace Officer: One count.
Prosecutors allege Mejer was previously warned by deputies in June 2025 that the vehicle (a Surron Ultra Bee) was illegal for her son to ride on public streets. They further claim she lied to investigators after the crash, denying she or her son owned such a vehicle.
Potential Insurance Impact
The hit-and-run incident significantly affects insurance coverage and liability because the vehicle involved was not a standard e-bike:
- Classification as a Motorcycle: Authorities determined the vehicle can reach speeds of nearly 60 mph, classifying it as a motorcycle under California law. This requires a motorcycle license, registration, and specialized insurance that the teen did not have.
- Denial of Coverage: Most standard homeowners or auto insurance policies do not cover “off-road” or illegal vehicles when operated on public roads, especially by an unlicensed minor.
- Personal Liability: Because the vehicle was uninsured and illegal for street use, the parents may be held personally financially liable for the victim’s extensive medical bills and damages through civil litigation.
Potential Charges for the Minor
Because the case involves a minor, specific details from the juvenile justice system are often restricted. However, authorities have confirmed he is accused of several serious offenses:
- Fleeing the Scene of an Accident Resulting in Injury: A hit-and-run charge for leaving the 81-year-old victim critically injured.
- Reckless Driving Resulting in Injury: Related to reports that he was “doing wheelies” and driving recklessly before the collision.
- Operating an Unlicensed Motor Vehicle: The Surron Ultra Bee he was riding is classified as a motorcycle in California, requiring a license he did not possess.
Potential Juvenile Court Outcomes
While the District Attorney’s office has been vocal about prosecuting the mother, the 14-year-old faces separate consequences in the juvenile system, which could include:
- Juvenile Probation or Detention: Depending on his prior record and the severity of the victim’s injuries.
- Mandatory Safety Education: Required under California’s new e-bike safety laws (effective January 2026).
- Driver’s License Delays: The court can postpone his ability to get a standard driver’s license once he reaches eligible age.
- Restitution: He and his parents may be ordered to pay for the victim’s extensive medical bills.