Mother charged with involuntary manslaughter over teen son’s alleged e-motorcycle crash

A California mom has been charged with involuntary manslaughter after her 14-year-old youngster allegedly hit an 81-year-old veteran whereas doing wheelies on an e-motorcycle and the person later died, officers mentioned Friday.

Tommi Jo Mejer, 50, was “repeatedly warned” of the danger concerned with her son driving the e-motorcycle however allegedly allowed the teen to proceed to illegally journey it, based on the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

Her son was allegedly driving the e-motorcycle on April 16 when he struck Ed Ashman whereas the 81-year-old substitute instructor was strolling dwelling from work in Lake Forest, based on prosecutors. The Surron e-motorcycle rider fled the scene, authorities mentioned.

Hours after the collision, Mejer allegedly advised authorities investigating the crash that neither she nor her son owned or had entry to a Surron.

Mejer was arrested on April 21 and initially charged with felony counts of kid endangerment and accent after the actual fact to against the law.

Ashman, who was critically injured within the collision, died on Thursday, based on the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, which has now upgraded Mejer’s costs to incorporate involuntary manslaughter.

Mejer has additionally been charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and offering false data to a peace officer, each misdemeanors, and an infraction for allowing an unlicensed minor below the age of 18 to drive a motorcar.

“An American hero who survived flying combat missions in Vietnam could not survive walking across the street in Lake Forest because of a 14-year-old child who was allowed to ride an e-motorcycle that he should have never been riding,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer mentioned in a press release. “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.”

According to prosecutors, Mejer had contacted the Orange County Sheriff’s Department almost a 12 months earlier than the collision, in June 2025, to complain about somebody posting photographs of her son driving an e-motorcycle. During the interplay, Mejer “admitted that she purchased her son a Surron e-motorcycle and knew that he drove it recklessly,” the district lawyer’s workplace mentioned in a press launch.

The deputies warned her that “she could continue to face potential criminal charges if she allowed him to ride the e-motorcycle, which he could not legally ride,” the workplace mentioned. Riders of this class of e-motorcycle have to be 16 years of age and possess a bike license, based on the district lawyer’s workplace.

Mejer faces a most sentence of seven years and eight months in state jail if convicted on all counts, prosecutors mentioned. She is scheduled to be arraigned on May 21. It is unclear if she has an lawyer.

The district lawyer’s workplace mentioned it’s barred by state regulation from figuring out the juvenile concerned or discussing the investigation involving him.

Ashman served as a captain within the US Marine Corps and flew fight missions in Vietnam, the district lawyer’s workplace mentioned.

“This is a tragedy for the family of Ed Ashman and for everyone who loved a man who committed himself to his country and his community, and it is a tragedy for our society that we have gotten to a point where parents are refusing to hold their children — and themselves — accountable for endangering the lives of other people,” Spitzer mentioned. “If parents aren’t going to hold their children accountable, then I am going to hold parents accountable for stealing and killing innocent people while riding illegal motor vehicles.”

ABC News’ Mason Leib contributed to this report.