Elmhurst Boy Hits Woman With E-Bike: Cops

ELMHURST, IL – A 14-year-old Elmhurst boy struck a woman leaving a business while riding a bicycle with an electric motor late Monday afternoon, police said.

The woman was knocked to the ground and suffered minor injuries, police said.

About 4:30 p.m., the youth was driving a Talaria XXX electric motorcycle heading south on the east sidewalk in the 500 block of South York Street, police said in a news release.

Police said the boy's e-bike had a 2,400-watt electric motor and was classified as a motorcycle under the state's vehicle code, police said. Legal e-bikes have a maximum motor power of 750 watts and are not permitted on sidewalks in Illinois.

The bike was more than triple the legal e-bike's motor size and not a street-legal vehicle, police said.

The boy was charged with driving a motor vehicle on a sidewalk, no valid driver's license, no registration and driving an uninsured car, police said.

The boy's father was charged with permitting an unlicensed driver to drive a motor vehicle. Both have pending court dates.

Under Illinois law, e-bikes must have pedals, have 750 watts or smaller motors, and cannot be ridden on public sidewalks. Class 3 e-bikes can only be ridden by those 16 or older.

Over the weekend, police detailed a couple of recent crashes involving youths on e-scooters.