An Orange County mother is facing felony charges after her 14-year-old son allegedly struck and critically injured an 81-year-old Vietnam War veteran while riding an electric motorcycle in Lake Forest.
Tommi Jo Mejer, 50, of Aliso Viejo was arrested Tuesday at the Lamoreaux Justice Center in Orange. According to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Mejer’s son allegedly hit the victim while “doing wheelies” on April 16 outside El Toro High School in Lake Forest. The victim, identified as Ed Ashman, a substitute teacher and captain in the United States Marine Corps, remains hospitalized in critical condition.
Prosecutors allege Mejer had been warned months earlier about allowing her son to illegally operate the Surron e-motorcycle. In June 2025, Mejer contacted the Orange County Sheriff’s Department to complain about a neighbor posting pictures of her then-13-year-old son riding an e-motorcycle. During a nearly 30-minute conversation captured on body-worn cameras, deputies warned Mejer that she could face criminal charges if she continued allowing her son to ride the vehicle, which he could not legally operate.
“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 district attorney’s office said. The Surron model in question can reach speeds of up to 58 miles per hour and is 16 times more powerful than what is legally allowed for an e-bike, according to prosecutors.
California law requires riders of Class 3 e-motorcycles to be 16 years of age and possess a motorcycle license. The vehicle must also be registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles and carry insurance. E-bikes manufactured to stay under 20 miles per hour have no age or licensing restrictions, but those modified or capable of higher speeds are considered e-motorcycles.
Following the April 16 collision, investigators say the teenage rider fled the scene. Mejer allegedly told authorities that neither she nor her son owned or had access to a Surron e-motorcycle.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer announced that Mejer 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. If convicted on all counts, she faces a maximum sentence of six years and eight months in state prison.
“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,” Spitzer said in a statement. “That is not a threat. That is a promise. 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.”
Spitzer noted that the state legislature has made it difficult for prosecutors to hold juveniles accountable for serious crimes, adding that holding parents accountable is the only way to stop the carnage caused by e-bikes and e-motorcycles across Orange County. The district attorney’s office cannot comment on any potential juvenile charges against the teen involved in the crash.
Mejer posted bond and was released from custody. It was not immediately clear whether she had retained an attorney. Mejer marks the third parent in Orange County this year alone charged with illegally allowing their child to ride an e-motorcycle.
A GoFundMe campaign has been established to support Ashman during his recovery.
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