A Southern California mother has been arrested and charged after her teenage son allegedly hit and critically injured an 81-year-old Vietnam veteran while riding an e-motorcycle, prosecutors said.

Tommi Jo Mejer, 50, was charged with one felony count of child endangerment and one felony count of accessory after the fact to a crime, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release on April 22. She was also charged with several misdemeanors, including contributing to the delinquency of a minor, loaning a motor vehicle to an unlicensed driver, and providing false information to a peace officer.

Mejer was arrested on April 21 by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, prosecutors said. She faces a maximum sentence of six years and eight months in state prison if she is convicted on all charges.

Prosecutors accused Mejer of continuing to allow her 14-year-old son to illegally ride an e-motorcycle despite receiving repeated warnings of the dangers. In a separate news release, the sheriff's department said deputies responded to a report of a pedestrian who was struck by what was initially believed to be an e-bike on April 16 in Lake Forest, California, an affluent city in Orange County.

Deputies then located a victim with life-threatening injuries, according to the sheriff's department. The victim was transported to the hospital and remains hospitalized in critical condition as of April 22, prosecutors said.

"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," Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement.

"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," Spitzer added.

Deputies were called to the scene, which borders El Toro High School, shortly before 4 p.m. local time on April 16, the sheriff's department said. Both prosecutors and the sheriff's department said the teenage boy fled the scene but witnesses provided a description of the suspect, who was "suspected of driving recklessly at the time of the crash."

Deputies later determined that the e-bike was actually an e-motorcycle that was designed for off-highway use, according to the sheriff's department.

Further investigation revealed that the victim, who was later identified as an 81-year-old substitute teacher and captain in the United States Marine Corps who flew combat missions in Vietnam, had been hit by the teen while he was doing wheelies on an e-motorcycle in the middle of the street, according to prosecutors.

The suspect was quickly identified, and a search warrant was served at a nearby residence. Hours after the incident, prosecutors said Mejer was captured on body-worn camera footage repeatedly telling deputies that neither she nor her son owned or had access to the e-motorcycle involved in the crash.

The sheriff's department said the teen, who was not publicly identified, was also arrested and booked at Orange County Juvenile Hall on charges related to the incident.

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Before the crash, prosecutors said Mejer called the sheriff's department in June 2025 to "complain that someone was posting pictures of her then-13-year-old son riding an e-motorcycle."

During a roughly 28-minute interaction with two deputies that was caught on body-worn camera footage, prosecutors said Mejer admitted that she purchased her son an e-motorcycle and "knew that he drove it recklessly." At the time, deputies warned Mejer that she could face potential criminal charges if she continued to allow her son to ride the e-motorcycle.

"Riders of Class 3 e-motorcycles must be 16 years of age and possess a motorcycle license," prosecutors said, adding that the model of the e-motorcycle involved in the crash requires a valid motorcycle license for street operation, DMV registration, a license plate, insurance, and full motorcycle equipment.

Prosecutors noted that the e-motorcycle model is "marketed as an off-road e-motorcycle." The e-motorcycle 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.

"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," Spitzer warned in his statement.

Electric scooters, bikes, hoverboards, and motorcycles have surged in popularity across the United States for recreation and everyday transportation, from commuting short distances to sightseeing. But that growth has been accompanied by a sharp rise in injuries, most often to riders and sometimes to nearby bystanders.

A 2023 report by the Consumer Product Safety Commission revealed that from 2017 – when the devices were first introduced at scale – through 2022, the United States recorded 360,800 emergency room visits related to e-bikes, e-scooters, and hoverboards, known collectively as micromobility vehicles.

Of those visits, 169,300 were linked to the scooters, or 47%. By comparison, ER trips stemming from e-bike accidents totaled 53,200, or less than 15%.

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), the world's largest medical association for musculoskeletal specialists, warned in 2025 that data showed a "concerning rise in bone and joint injuries tracking with the surging popularity" of these vehicles.

The AAOS urged riders to research and understand the physical risks of micromobility vehicles before riding them on roads and trails. Health officials have noted that e-bikes, along with other micromobility vehicles, reach higher speeds than traditional vehicles and result in more force during falls or collisions.

"This higher energy impact is causing injuries we don’t typically see in traditional bicycle falls,” AAOS spokesperson and orthopaedic surgeon Brian Waterman said in a statement. “The risk of fractures, dislocations and head trauma increases as e-bike usage becomes more popular. The best protection starts with awareness, proper protection and responsible riding."

Contributing: Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Teen on e-motorcycle accused of hitting veteran. His mom faces charges