{"id":304371,"date":"2026-05-07T14:56:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T14:56:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/304371\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T14:56:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T14:56:21","slug":"e-bike-injuries-rise-among-children-in-fresno-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/304371\/","title":{"rendered":"E-bike injuries rise among children in Fresno County"},"content":{"rendered":"

The rise in electric bicycles and e-scooters hasn\u2019t become just a nuisance for those annoyed from watching and hearing children zip down a street.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s become dangerous \u2014 even deadly in one case last week in Fresno<\/a> \u2014 with the number of children sustaining injury from e-bike-related crashes increasing at an \u201calarming\u201d rate in Fresno County, according to local health experts and law enforcement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the United States, e-bike-related injuries rose 30 fold from 2017 to 2022; our numbers in the Valley have risen similarly,\u201d said Dr. Carmela Sosa of Valley Children\u2019s Hospital. \u201cWe want our children outside. We want them to be physically active. …<\/p>\n

\u201cThe increasing use of e-bikes and e-scooters brings safety challenges that we cannot ignore.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Valley Children\u2019s Hospital, the number of e-bike and e-scooter-related injuries climbed from 11 in 2023 to 41 in 2025.<\/p>\n

And in the first four months of 2026, the children\u2019s hospital in Madera already has seen nearly as many e-bike-related injuries as it did throughout all of last year (22).<\/p>\n

There were two high-profile collisions involving electronically motorized vehicles just last week in Fresno.<\/p>\n

A 13-year-old was killed and a 12-year-old was critically injured after riding together on a motorized scooter that collided with a truck.<\/p>\n

Two days later, a 14-year-old boy was seriously injured after crashing a miniature motorcycle into a car<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cData shows that younger, inexperienced riders are at increased risk of injury,\u201d Sosa said. \u201cWhile some of these injuries have been minor, many have resulted in traumatic brain injury or multi-system trauma.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though folks must be at least 15 1\/2 years old to apply for a driver\u2019s permit in California<\/a>, there legally are no age restrictions for many e-bikes and e-scooters, which have the capability of traveling as fast as 20 mph.<\/p>\n

Those driving anything that can go 28 mph or faster, such as a Class 3 e-bike<\/a>, must be at least 16 years old.<\/p>\n

And all riders and passengers under 18 years old on e-bikes and e-scooters must wear a helmet<\/a> under California law.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019ve seen is many parents don\u2019t always understand what they\u2019re buying their kids \u2014 sometimes they\u2019re buying full motorcycles that have been marketed like an e-bike,\u201d said Clovis police sergeant Abby Padgett, who is a traffic supervisor. \u201cSo now, their kids are riding on vehicles that can go up to 60 mph and they\u2019re smashing down the street or sidewalk. And that\u2019s not street legal.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou also have some of those who aren\u2019t following the rules of the road. They\u2019re popping wheelies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Safety concerns regarding motorized bikes, mopeds, skateboards and scooters on the Fresno State campus became such an issue, the university decided to ban such vehicles<\/a> starting in the fall semester.<\/p>\n

While riders of e-bikes and e-scooters can be issued a citation and could even have their electronic vehicle impounded in some cases, local law enforcement has more so emphasized educating and encouraging safety for those using such motorized vehicles.<\/p>\n

Know and follow the rules of the road.<\/p>\n

Wear a helmet.<\/p>\n

And for parents, understand exactly what you\u2019re buying and letting your children drive.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people will say \u2018Let the kids have their fun,\u2019\u201c Padgett said. \u201cWell, some of what they\u2019re doing isn\u2019t street legal.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it\u2019s not fun when someone dies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A A teen was injured in a crash with a vehicle at Shields and West avenues in Fresno, California on Sunday, May 3, 2026. ANTHONY GALAVIZ agalaviz@fresnobee.com \"The The intersection of Bullard and Palm avenues was blocked off following a fatal crash on Friday, May 1, 2026. ANTHONY GALAVIZ agalaviz@fresnobee.com \"Officers Officers investigate an e-bike collision in front of Edison High in Fresno, California on Sunday, April 26, 2026. ANTHONY GALAVIZ agalaviz@fresnobee.com \"A A teen on an e-bike was injured by a pickup truck in Clovis, California on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. CLOVIS POLICE DEPARTMENT
\n Related Stories from Fresno Bee<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Bryant-Jon Anteola<\/a><\/p>\n

The Fresno Bee<\/p>\n

Bryant-Jon Anteola is a multimedia reporter for The Fresno Bee, writing stories and producing videos about sports, news and random topics relatable to those in the Fresno area. He\u2019s won a McClatchy President\u2019s Award and received honorable mention by the Associated Press Sports Editors. He enjoys sports because of the competition, camaraderie and energy, and views sports as a microcosm of society.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The rise in electric bicycles and e-scooters hasn\u2019t become just a nuisance for those annoyed from watching and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":298803,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-304371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=304371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304371\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/298803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=304371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=304371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=304371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}