It is good to start them young with motorcycling, they say, but not when teenagers are stunting on the road and evading the police for days, only for the officers to reach their house and press charges.
This is what happened with a 15-year-old boy in Fontana, who allegedly escaped from the Fontana Police on an e-motorcycle in four different pursuits, pushing officers to eventually knock on his door.
The trend with teenagers stunting on e-motorcycles is gaining traction across the country, as they sometimes even indulge in highway takeovers.
Parents of the teens are being held accountable as a result, and not knowing about their children’s whereabouts is something that won’t be accepted as an excuse.
Pursuit Video Shows Teen Rider Provoking Officers
Footage of the pursuit released by the Fontana Police Department shows two riders on e-motorcycles popping wheelies, standing on their bikes, and provoking officers while being pursued by patrol vehicles that had their lights and sirens on.
According to a report by KTLA5, the two riders were speeding through the Hunter’s Ridge neighborhood on May 21. Authorities confirmed that both riders were performing dangerous stunts on the road.
Fontana Police Sgt. Nathan Weiske said one of the riders looked back at the officers but refused to stop. He said:
“He just took off and looked back at officers. He knew he was being followed. He could see them.”
One of the riders actually went off the road and allegedly entered a flood control channel. Weiske added:
“It’s an off-road situation. Physically, the vehicles could not pursue any further, so that’s why they had the support of the air unit.”
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Parents Were Unaware of the Teenager’s Activities
The rider managed to flee that day, but little did he know that the officers would visit him about a week later with a search warrant, as an investigation helped them track the 15-year-old.
Officers confirmed that the teenager led them on four separate pursuits. However, the boy’s parents had no idea what he had been doing. An officer said:
“We talked to the parents. Parents claimed to not know what he was doing.”
The boy was then charged with felony evading, while his e-motorcycle was seized for evidence.
The problem of teens riding recklessly on illegal e-motorcycles has become a major concern for many parents, and numbers suggest the complaints involving teenagers stunting on high-powered e-motorcycles have increased.
Tommy Montgomery explained that she had laid out clear rules for her son as soon as he got an e-bike. She said:
“Being a mom that has a son that has an e-bike, there’s a lot of parents that aren’t giving ground rules to these kids.
“From day one when he got the bike, we set ground rules. We’re not wheelieing up and down busy streets. You are to ride in the dirt, in the hills.”
Social Media Divided Over Police Action on E-Motorcycle Riders
Several Instagram users commented on the video, with many revealing that the police have more serious crimes to address than chasing teenagers riding e-motorcycles. Some comments are below:
One user wrote that the police need to focus on addressing gang activity in the city:
“Fontana PD needs to focus on the increase of Gang activity happening in the central Fontana And south Fontana not E-Bikes” [sic]
Another user wrote that the parents should be held liable:
“Parents should be held liable regardless of “knowing”. A pursuit is taking away city resources and I’m sure fuel in a helicopter isn’t cheap.”
One user asked everyone to be held accountable:
“Take the e bike away charge the kid and the parents.”
A user asked the police to solve crimes instead of chasing teenagers:
“Bro Fontana pd should fight crime not kids on electric bike having fun , smh I remember being a kid having fun , now you can’t even ride a bike in peace” [sic]