Mom faces charges after son on e-motorcycle allegedly struck, fatally wounded man

The mother of a 14-year-old Orange County boy who allegedly struck and killed an 81-year-old man while riding an e-motorcycle appeared in court for the first time Tuesday to face criminal charges stemming from the deadly crash.

Prosecutors allege Tommi Jo Mejer’s son struck the Vietnam War veteran on April 16 after the teenager was spotted doing wheelies in the middle of the street. Charges were filed against the 50-year-old Aliso Viejo mother because prosecutors allege she was warned before the deadly crash that her son had been driving the electric motorcycle recklessly and that he was not legally allowed to ride it.

On Tuesday, Mejer appeared with her attorneys for a brief hearing at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach. The arraignment hearing, however, was postponed to June 30, according to court records.

Mejer’s attorneys declined to comment directly on the case, but released a short statement on behalf of their client.

“Tommi Mejer is anguished over the terrible accident,” read the statement from attorneys Paul S. Meyer and Lolita Kirk. “She sends her deepest condolences and sorrow over this tragedy. This has been devastating for everyone. It is premature to make any other statement.”

Mejer faces a felony count of involuntary manslaughter, one felony count of child endangerment, one felony county 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 a unlicensed driver, and one misdemeanor count of providing false information to a peace officer.

She faces up to seven years and eight months in prison if convicted on all counts, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors allege Mejer’s son was riding a Surron e-motorcycle near Toledo Way and Ridge Route Drive in Lake Forest when he hit 81-year-old Ed Ashman. The teenager then allegedly fled the scene.

Ashman was taken to a hospital and died on April 30.

Orange County sheriff’s deputies contacted Mejer about the crash hours after it occurred, and she was allegedly captured on camera telling deputies that neither she nor her son owned a Surron or had access to one.

But prosecutors allege that Mejer had, months earlier, talked to deputies about her son riding the electric motorcycle.

In June 2025, Mejer allegedly called deputies to complain that someone had posted pictures online of her son, then 13, riding an e-motorcycle. Mejer told deputies at the time that she had purchased the Surron motorcycle for her son.

The electric motorcycle, which can reach speeds of up to 58 mph and has a peak power of 12.5kW, is not considered an e-bike under California law — meaning that riders must have a motorcycle license and must register the vehicle through the Department of Motor Vehicles.

In a statement announcing the charges against Mejer, Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer accused her of “essentially hand[ing] her 14-year-old son a deadly weapon.”

“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,” Spitzer said in the statement.