An 81-year-old Vietnam veteran, Ed Ashman, is fighting for his life after being struck by an electric motorcycle outside a high school where he was working as a substitute teacher. Orange County prosecutors say the rider was a 14-year-old student, and authorities have charged the boy’s mother, 50-year-old Tommi Jo Mejer, with felony child endangerment and loaning a motor vehicle to an unlicensed minor.
District Attorney Todd Spitzer told reporters deputies recorded a 23-minute interview last year in which officers warned Mejer that the e-motorcycle—capable of reaching about 60 mph—was illegal for her underage son to operate. Spitzer says investigators have evidence she was admonished and later furnished the boy with another motorcycle, actions he described as “foreseeable” and a “natural and probable consequence.” He called the case a test to remind parents they can be held responsible for children’s illegal behavior.
Mejer’s charges include providing a motor vehicle to an unlicensed minor and child endangerment; if convicted she could face up to six years in prison. Spitzer urged parents to set and enforce rules, saying failures can leave lifelong effects for children, family members and victims alike.
CBS News reached out to Mejer and her attorney but received no response. Ashman remains hospitalized in critical condition. The DA emphasized the case is intended to send a message to parents about accountability when children break the law.