KCBS-2 reported Monday that a pedestrian was killed by a driver in La Habra, with another person critically injured.
It took until Saturday night to discover that the victims were apparently sharing an ebike.
According to On Scene TV, the victims, identified only as a former high school student and a current student at La Habra High School, were struck near Hacienda Blvd & Russell Street sometime before 8:46 pm. Although from the minimal description, it’s unclear whether they had both had attended La Habra High.
The site reports they were riding north on Hacienda when they were hit from behind by the driver, with enough force to throw both victims into the windshield. It also left the ped-assist ebike embedded deeply in the sedan’s grill, as shown in raw video from the scene, which suggests the driver may have been traveling at a high rate of speed.
The former student died at the scene, while the other victim was rushed to a trauma center in critical condition.
The driver remained at the scene, if only because the car appears to be underivable; it’s unknown if drugs or alcohol played a role in the crash.
This was at least the fifth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the first that I’m aware of in Orange County.
Traggic. Hope the surviving student has a full physical recovery.
Worse than typical news – Pedestrians…
That V8 electric motorcycle is a motor-driven cycle, sold on Amazon, not an electric bicycle.
It is advertised to go over 30 mph, the legal limit of a moped, and is a motor vehicle.
Requires a full DOT M/C helmet on driver and passenger, Motor Cycle driver’s license, Registration / License plat (If you can convince the DMV it has a VIN and is certified as safe for the road use) and Insurance.
I hear you. I found that bike listed on Amazon with a 31 mph top speed, and on Walmart with a top speed under 20 mph. My guess is that it is sold as a legal ebike with an easily defeated speed limiter that allows it to exceed the legal limit when removed. But it was the pedals that convinced me to treat it as an ebike instead of an electric motorbike. But ultimately, I decided how fast it can go didn’t matter, since the kids were run down from behind.
He was actually a 10th grade student at La Serna HS in Whittier. My daughter is a freshman at La Serna and told me all about it. We parents also received an email. The school was devastated by what happened. The student ran track and was popular among his classmates. Our hearts go out to the family.
Thank you. This is more than tragic.
The tow boys were only 15 years old. A La Habra hs student and La serna Hs student. Ethan Carlos, may he forever rest in paradise. This has shaken our entire community & Ethan is deeply missed & loved. We are praying for A’s full recovery. He has a long road ahead.
Any update on the recovery of the injured teen?
I haven’t heard anything. We may never learn anything due to HIPPA medical privacy rules, as well as the fact that it’s a minor.