Mother charged with involuntary manslaughter over teen son's alleged e-motorcycle crash
A California mother has been charged with involuntary manslaughter after her 14-year-old child allegedly hit an 81-year-old veteran while doing wheelies on an e-motorcycle and the man later died, officials said Friday.
Tommi Jo Mejer, 50, was "repeatedly warned" of the risk involved with her son riding the e-motorcycle but allegedly allowed the teen to continue to illegally ride it, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.
Her son was allegedly riding the e-motorcycle on April 16 when he struck Ed Ashman while the 81-year-old substitute teacher was walking home from work in Lake Forest, according to prosecutors. The Surron e-motorcycle rider fled the scene, authorities said.
Hours after the collision, Mejer allegedly told authorities investigating the crash that neither she nor her son owned or had access to a Surron.
Mejer was arrested on April 21 and initially charged with felony counts of child endangerment and accessory after the fact to a crime.
Ashman, who was critically injured in the collision, died on Thursday, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office, which has now upgraded Mejer's charges to include involuntary manslaughter.
Mejer has also been charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and providing false information to a peace officer, both misdemeanors, and an infraction for permitting an unlicensed minor under the age of 18 to drive a motor vehicle.
"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 said in a 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."
According to prosecutors, Mejer had contacted the Orange County Sheriff's Department nearly a year before the collision, in June 2025, to complain about someone posting photos of her son riding an e-motorcycle. During the interaction, Mejer "admitted that she purchased her son a Surron e-motorcycle and knew that he drove it recklessly," the district attorney's office said in a press release.
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," the office said. Riders of this class of e-motorcycle must be 16 years of age and possess a motorcycle license, according to the district attorney's office.
Mejer faces a maximum sentence of seven years and eight months in state prison if convicted on all counts, prosecutors said. She is scheduled to be arraigned on May 21. It is unclear if she has an attorney.
The district attorney's office said it is barred by state law from identifying the juvenile involved or discussing the investigation involving him.
Ashman served as a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps and flew combat missions in Vietnam, the district attorney's office said.
"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 said. "If parents aren't going to hold their children accountable, then I am going to hold parents accountable for hurting and killing innocent people while riding illegal motor vehicles."
ABC News' Mason Leib contributed to this report.
