Tommi Jo Mejer Charged for Manslaughter After Son’s E-Bike Crash

Tommi Jo Mejer of Aliso Viejo faces up to nearly eight years in prison for allegedly putting a deadly machine in the hands of her 14-year-old son — and then lying about it.

LAKE FOREST, CA (May 14, 2026) — Tommi Jo Mejer, 51, of Aliso Viejo appeared in a Newport Beach courtroom Tuesday on charges that could send her to prison for nearly eight years — the result of a decision prosecutors say she made long before her 14-year-old son’s electric motorcycle slammed into an 81-year-old Vietnam veteran this spring.

Mejer made her first court appearance Tuesday after being charged with involuntary manslaughter for allegedly allowing her son to ride an e-motorcycle that fatally struck Ed Ashman in April. Her arraignment was postponed. It was continued to June 30.

What Happened in Tommi Jo Mejer’s Case

Prosecutors allege the boy was doing wheelies on an e-motorcycle in the street when he struck Ashman near Toledo Way and Ridge Route Drive in Lake Forest, near El Toro High School, on April 16. Ashman was a former U.S. Marine Corps captain who flew combat missions in Vietnam and a substitute teacher at El Toro High School.

Ashman was originally hospitalized in critical condition. He died on April 30, after which prosecutors filed an amended criminal complaint against Mejer charging her with involuntary manslaughter.

After hitting Ashman, the teen fled from the scene but was later arrested for charges related to the incident. 

The Charges Against Mejer

The case against Tommi Jo Mejer is sweeping. Along with the felony involuntary manslaughter charge, she also faces felony child endangerment and being an accessory after the fact to a crime, along with misdemeanor counts of contributing to delinquency and providing false information to a peace officer, and an infraction for permitting an unlicensed minor to drive a motor vehicle.

Mejer faces a maximum sentence of seven years and eight months in state prison if convicted on all counts.

Warnings She Ignored

The prosecution’s case rests heavily on what happened nearly a year before Ashman was struck. In June 2025, Mejer was captured on body-camera footage complaining to deputies about images being posted online of her son, then 13, riding the e-motorcycle. During that conversation, she admitted she had purchased the Surron e-motorcycle for her son and knew he rode it recklessly. Deputies warned her she could face charges if he continued riding it.

Then, when the crash happened, she allegedly reversed course. In the immediate aftermath, prosecutors say Mejer told Orange County Sheriff’s Department deputies that neither she nor her son owned a Surron and that they didn’t have access to one — a claim that directly contradicted the body-cam footage. 

Illegally Operated Motorcycle

The e-motorcycle involved was a 2025 Surron Ultra Bee, which is more powerful than a typical e-bike and classified as a motorcycle under California law. It can reach speeds of up to 58 mph and requires a valid motorcycle license, registration and insurance to be operated legally on public roads. Without those, the vehicle can only be used on private property or off-highway vehicle areas. 

The distinction matters legally. The difference between an e-bike and an e-motorcycle is that an e-bike has pedals and cannot exceed 20 mph. What the Mejer family had was squarely in motorcycle territory — and prosecutors argue they knew it. 

District Attorney’s Message

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer was pointed in his assessment of the case.

“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,” Spitzer said. “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.” 

Spitzer recently said he was going to start holding parents accountable for their children’s actions on e-bikes and e-motorcycles, adding: “If you know, buy, engage, modify, facilitate, aid and abet your child to ride an illegal e-motorcycle or e-bike that’s been modified, we’re going to prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.” 

Mejer’s attorneys offered a brief statement after Tuesday’s hearing. “Tommi Mejer is anguished over the terrible accident,” the statement read. “She sends her deepest condolences and sorrow over this tragedy. This has been devastating for everyone. It is premature to make any other statement.” 

A Broader e-Motorcycle Crisis

The Mejer case is not isolated. She is now one of three Orange County parents charged since January for allowing their children to illegally ride e-motorcycles. In March, a Yorba Linda father was charged with child endangerment for allegedly helping his son illegally modify an e-bike by bypassing its speed limiter, allowing it to reach speeds up to 60 mph.

The region has seen a cascade of tragedies tied to these vehicles. Last week, a 13-year-old boy was killed after crashing a motorized cycle into a median in Garden Grove, where police say he was riding at about 35 mph when he lost control. Days later, Amazon halted sales of e-bikes to California that exceed the state’s speed limit.

Last month, an Orange County school district became the first to implement a ban on e-bikes for elementary and middle schoolers. 

For families of victims like Ed Ashman — a man who flew combat missions over Vietnam and spent his later years teaching at the local high school — none of those policy developments bring back what was lost. A GoFundMe has been established to support the Ashman family.

Mejer is next due in court June 30 in Newport Beach.

If you or someone you know has been injured by a negligent driver or an unlicensed vehicle operator, contact our office to understand your legal rights.