On Saturday, August 2, 2025, at approximately 10:08 p.m., the Huntington Beach Police Department (HBPD) responded to a traffic collision near the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Seapoint Street involving a gray Toyota Tacoma and a subject riding an e-bike.
Upon arrival, officers located the driver of the Toyota, a 20-year-old male from Huntington Beach, who was uninjured. The rider of the e-bike, a 19-year-old male from Huntington Beach, was found unconscious in the roadway.
Paramedics responded and transported him to a nearby hospital for emergency care, where he eventually succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased. Impairment is not suspected in relation to the driver of the Toyota Tacoma.
Based on the preliminary investigation, the Toyota was traveling southbound on Pacific Coast Highway while the subject on the e-bike, who was an acquaintance of the driver, was holding onto the vehicle. The rider lost control, resulting in a collision. No arrests have been made, and the investigation is ongoing.
The e-bike rider has since been identified as Kolby Aipa, the 20-year-old grandson of iconic and innovative Hawaiian surfboard shaper, Ben Aipa, a member of both the Surfing Walk of Fame and Surfers’ Hall of Fame.
Kolby was an up-and-coming surfer himself. He was sponsored by the clothing brand AVVA, Dakine, Cobian footwear, and others. He was also a member of the Huntington Beach Board Riders club.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help his family. it has already raised over $72K. The page includes this statement:
Kolby always had a way with touching the lives of whoever he met. His acts of kindness and caring was his gift of Aloha to friends and strangers alike. To everyone that reads this…pass his Aloha on. So, how Kolby treated you, treat others in that same way…
In this you are continuing his legacy of Aloha.
And you too can be like Kolby.
Remember him and tell the world that #iamkolby.
The collision investigation is ongoing and is being handled by the HBPD Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team (MAIT). Anyone who witnessed the collision or the events leading up to it is encouraged to contact HBPD Traffic Investigator S. Flynn at (714) 536-5666.
Was he wearing a helmet? If so, was the helmet strap latched?
It is a very unfortunate outcome to an incident that didn’t need to happen. You can’t tell kids to be more careful or they might get hurt because they will do what they want anyway. In this case it didn’t work out. It is what happens sometimes when you engage in risky behavior, like running red lights or not stopping at stop signs. This risky behavior on e-bikes is consistent in HB, unfortunately.