Temecula E-Motorcycle Crash Shows Perils For Kids, Families

TEMECULA, CA — Following an injury crash this week in Temecula involving a sedan and juveniles on electric motorcycles, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department is again reminding parents that a non-pedal bike with more than a 750-watt motor cannot be legally operated by unlicensed riders on public streets.

Monday's crash was reported at 6:59 p.m. in the area of La Serena Way and Camino Corto.

According to investigators, four juveniles on two electric motorcycles were riding eastbound on La Serena Way when they collided with the car.

Three of the kids were sent to a local hospital with injuries described as minor to moderate. There was no word on the sedan's occupants.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, but the motorcycles involved in the crash lacked basic U.S. Department of Transportation-certified safety equipment needed for roadway use and, therefore, were being ridden illegally, according to the sheriff's department.

The sheriff's department offered these tips for parents who purchase e-motorcycles for their kids:

• An electric bike without pedals that has more than a 750-watt motor is an electric motorcycle and cannot be legally operated by unlicensed riders on public thoroughfares.
• You must be at least 16 years old to get a motorcycle license in California. (Thirty-six percent of motorcycle fatalities involve an unlicensed rider, the sheriff's department said.)

To operate an electric motorcycle safely and legally on the roadway, the sheriff's department said you need the following:

• A valid motorcycle license issued by the DMV.
• A DOT-certified motorcycle helmet. (Forty-one percent of motorcycle fatalities involve riders who were not wearing a helmet, according to the sheriff's department.)

• Valid motorcycle registration. 

• Minimum liability motorcycle insurance.

Anyone with information about Monday's crash is asked to call Corporal Downs of the Southwest Sheriff’s Station at 951-696-3000 or the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office at 951-776-1099.