Jersey Shore Teen On E-Bike Will Lose Driving Privileges For A Year

MANASQUAN, NJ — An Ocean County family court judge handed down a strict sentence last week to a teen who police say was terrorizing three different Jersey Shore towns on an e-bike.

The towns are Manasquan (where the teen lives), Spring Lake and Bay Head.

The teen, whose age was not released, first came on the radar of Manasquan Police on March 15. Police say he committed numerous traffic violations while riding the e-bike on Riverside Drive in that town and when police tried to stop him, he sped away from them.

The same teen was seen again driving dangerously on the e-bike on March 29, and this time he tried to stop police from pulling over a car.

Manasquan Police took the teen boy into custody April 4. He was charged with a series of traffic violations and also criminally charged with third-degree eluding, hindering apprehension and four counts of endangering another person (disorderly persons).

Last Wednesday, a judge in Ocean County found him guilty of all the criminal charges, and handed down an unusually tough sentence: Two years of probation; when he becomes of legal driving age he will lose his license for a year; he has to attend a driver's safety course and he has to forfeit the e-bike. He also has to do 60 hours of community service and write letters of apology to police in those three towns.

If the teen violates the terms of his two-year probation, he will have to serve 45 days in the Ocean County juvenile detention center.

Manasquan Police Capt. Nick Norcia said he hopes this sentence serves as "a learning experience for any juveniles who have e-bikes."

"While we have not banned e-bikes, we have taken a strong stance on them. We hope that everyone who operates an e-bike does it in a safe manner and abides by all the traffic laws."

Some towns in New Jersey, including New Brunswick, Hoboken and Perth Amboy have banned e-bikes and e-scooters outright. Other towns, like Woodbridge, vowed this September they are going to start more aggressively ticketing e-bike riders that go on the sidewalk: Woodbridge Wants To Start Issuing Tickets For Riding E-Bikes, E-Scooters On The Sidewalk