A 72-year-old Seal Beach, California, woman who was seriously injured when a teenager on an electric motorcycle struck her in a crosswalk is speaking out about the incident for the first time. Stephanie Potter said she’s four months into recovery, but it’s far from over. She’s now looking for better safety rules and accountability around e-bikes and e-motorcycles, according to ABC7.
Potter said she remembers little about the March crash. She had met friends on Main Street and was entering a crosswalk at Ocean Avenue around 5:30 p.m. She woke up in the intensive care unit with her right tibia, her left hand, her nose, and her jaw all broken. She said she later learned she had been struck by a teenager riding what she described as an illegal Sur-Ron e-motorcycle.
She spent two weeks in the ICU and then four weeks at a rehab facility. She was finally able to go home once she could speak and swallow on her own. Four months on, her jaw still hasn’t been fully repaired, which she said leaves her speech mumbled. She’s scheduled for surgery next month to have her jaw re-broken and reset.
Potter has since tried to send a clear message to any parents who let their kids ride the bikes. She said her goal is education, saying “It’s not to punish. It’s to educate,” and adding that rules and regulations are all part of that. Potter is scheduled to speak on July 28 at a safety luncheon hosted by the Seal Beach Rotary Club, where reps from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office will be in attendance.
Why a Sur-Ron Isn’t Technically an E-Bike Under California Law
It may sound like an e-bike, but there’s a legally distinct definition keeping it from being labeled one. A low-speed electric bicycle has fully operable pedals, a motor under 750 watts, and a top speed under 20 mph on motor power alone. A Sur-Ron has foot pegs rather than pedals and exceeds both power and speed limits,. California wrote that line into its vehicle code effective January 1, 2026 before Potter got hit.
Senate Bill 586 added Section 436.1 to the Vehicle Code, creating a category called an off-highway electric motorcycle, informally an eMoto. The California Highway Patrol describes it as a vehicle designed primarily for off-highway use, powered by an electric motor, with handlebars, a manufacturer-provided straddle seat, two wheels, and no pedals from the manufacturer. That classification places a Sur-Ron in the same legal family as a gas dirt bike or an ATV, which means private property and designated off-highway areas rather than streets, sidewalks, bike lanes, or bike paths.
The Lake Forest Death Behind Orange County’s Push to Charge Parents
While Potter was recovering, an 81-year-old man was also struck by a teenager on an e-motorcycle in nearby Lake Forest and later died. Ed Ashman, a Vietnam War veteran who worked as a substitute teacher at El Toro High School, was walking home from work on April 16 when a 14-year-old riding a Sur-Ron crashed into him. Investigators said the boy had been doing wheelies outside the school. Ashman died two weeks later.
Prosecutors then charged the boy’s mother, and she is the third parent in Orange County charged this year in connection with allowing a child to ride an e-motorcycle illegally. Tommi Jo Mejer of Aliso Viejo faces felony counts of involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment, and being an accessory after the fact, along with two misdemeanors and an infraction for permitting an unlicensed minor to drive, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
Potter’s case is ongoing, but she’d like to see an end put to these types of accidents, especially if education is the difference between someone getting injured or killed.