A recent settlement of an e-bike lawsuit in Key Biscayne is underscoring growing national concern and the question of parental responsibility.
After 10 months of litigation, the family of a 12-year-old boy reached a settlement in June with the family of Megan Andrews, court records show. Andrews, a beloved local educator, died on Valentine’s Day 2024 while riding her regular bike in a collision with an e-bike.
The Andrews family claimed that allowing the 12-year-old to operate the e-bike amounted to “negligent entrustment” and “negligent supervision” by the boy’s parents.
In turn, the parents blamed Andrews, who investigators said was riding her bicycle without a light at night. They said their son had been traumatized by the collision, later having to transfer off Key Biscayne.
The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. But court records reviewed by the Independent show an attorney for the boy’s parents responded to a demand for payment by writing “my clients are close to refinancing the property” needed to settle the case.
The Independent is not identifying the boy or the parents because it does not generally publish the names of minors involved in criminal investigations. Authorities ruled the crash an accident, but the Andrews family filed the civil suit last year.
“God decided to choose my son to be alive,” said the boy’s mother in a December deposition. “I didn’t do anything wrong. My son didn’t do anything wrong.”
National Debate
The Key Biscayne case led to a permanent ban on Village streets, but now across the country, other state and local governments are taking action.
In California, prosecutors are cracking down by pursuing criminal charges against some of the young riders’ parents. In New York, the mayor sent orders to Amazon about sales of the devices after a fatal crash.
Meanwhile riders and their families have to navigate a patchwork of local laws like Key Biscayne’s to determine if souped-up cycles and e-scooters are safe –or even legal– for their kids to ride.
But do the measures hit the mark? Cycling advocates worry regulations might be too broad — demonizing low-powered e-bikes instead of speedier motos — while some parents question whether localized, piecemeal strategies are enough.
Key Biscayne’s handling of e-bikes and e-scooters mirrored those competing tensions.
Long before the 66-year-old Andrews died in the 2024 collision, the Village had seen the number of accidents and near misses skyrocket — but it delayed a Village-wide ban. Among the reasons were concerns by some council members that a ban would penalize riders who operated the devices safely.
Police Chief Frank Sousa and Manager Steve Williamson actually argued against a ban, saying a “local-streets-only” restriction would have the effect of driving youth traffic onto busy Crandon Boulevard — a County road where Village rules wouldn’t apply.
Within hours after Andrews’s death, the Village acted. First, there was an emergency ban on local streets, followed by a permanent measure.
Within hours of the Village ban, the streets and sidewalks were clear of the devices.
Meanwhile, at the County level, a pilot program spearheaded by Commissioner Raquel Regalado granted Key Biscayne the power to enforce new e-bike rules on Crandon. Last month, the “interlocal agreement” was extended another two years until 2028.
The County measure means certain types of e-bike remain legal on Crandon, but only if riders stay inside the bike lane.
Blaming Parents
Monica Stafford, a San Francisco-area mother whose teen daughter fractured her skull falling off an e-bike, said officials are “missing the mark” if they’re seeking to lay the blame solely on parents. The San Rafael resident said a unified, national set of rules is needed.
“We’re in a total Wild West of laws,” Stafford said. “Being for common sense laws doesn’t mean that you’re against e-bikes, just like you can be for cars but not think that it’s safe to put keys in the hands of a 10-year-old.”
The two-wheeled machines have become nearly ubiquitous in recent years, from packs of teens zipping around California beach towns to the army of delivery drivers dodging traffic on the congested streets of Manhattan.
Hospital visits for injuries from e-bike, e-scooter and other motorized rides have, as expected, soared as they have grown in popularity, study after study has shown. But researchers stress that the more concerning trends are the severity of the injuries and the fact that they’re especially pronounced among children.
“The big takeaway is that people are generally more severely injured than they would be if they were on a traditional, pedal bicycle,” said Dr. John Austin, a doctor at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine who led a recently published statewide study. “Overall, these patients tend to be younger, they tend to be unhelmeted and, in turn, be more severely injured.”
Recent youth deaths prompt officials to take action
Most e-bikes are classified as nonmotorized vehicles akin to traditional bicycles under federal law, meaning riders don’t need a license, insurance or to even wear a helmet. Most states, though, have enacted additional requirements for higher powered machines, including minimum age and helmet requirements.
In New York City, the death of a 17-year-old just steps from City Hall has spurred renewed debate about the bikes. Gabriel Nacato had been riding a vehicle advertised as an “e-bike” but wasn’t legal on city streets.
Earlier this month, Mayor Zohran Mamdani warned more than 40 online retailers, including Amazon, Walmart and Target, that they could face fines of up to $2,000 for each sale of an e-bike that exceeds city regulations.
New York state requires riders of all forms of e-bikes to be at least 16 and New York City imposes additional restrictions, including a 15 mph (24 kph) speed limit. California, in contrast, has no statewide minimum age for lower-powered bikes, though riders must be at least 16 to use e-bikes that can go up to 28 mph (45 kph).
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a bill setting statewide e-bike limits, saying it would lead to “enhanced surveillance by local governments.”
Other jurisdictions seek to hold parents accountable
In Southern California, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer says his office has more than two dozen open investigations against parents after launching a new unit focused on e-bike and e-motorcycle cases involving children.
The office has already brought charges against four, including the mother of a 14-year-old boy accused of killing an elderly pedestrian while riding an e-motorcycle.
That mother’s attorney declined to comment, but Mitchell Krems, the lawyer for another parent, dismissed the charges against his client as “absurd,” suggesting his client was being made a “scapegoat.”
Richard Eyssallenne pleaded not guilty to child endangerment charges after prosecutors say he bought his 12-year-old son an e-motorcycle and helped him illegally modify it to make it go faster. The boy ran through a red light and was injured by a car.
Other jurisdictions have also taken steps to hold parents liable.
In Ohio, a Columbus suburb recently issued new e-bike rules making it clear that parents who knowingly allow their children to break the rules are subject to the same penalties as the rider.
Cycling advocates blame electronic motorcycles
PeopleForBikes, a national bicycle advocacy group that tracks state e-bike regulations, stressed that many of the problematic vehicles are actually electronic motorcycles with heavy frames, sturdy tires and sizable motors that are falsely marketed as e-bikes.
Lower-powered and pedal-assisted e-bikes have been used safely for decades on U.S. streets and are key to reducing society’s reliance on cars, advocates argue.
“Many of the dangerous behaviors people cite — running red lights, riding on sidewalks, not wearing helmets — are already illegal,” added Chloé Lauer, executive director of the San Diego County Bike Coalition. “We’d rather see those laws enforced than add new restrictions that limit mobility for kids who are riding responsibly.”
Anya Dalal, a San Francisco-area high school senior who has been advocating for better safety measures, believes the problem requires multiple solutions, including setting age limits.
“It should be a mix of parental accountability, accountability from the manufacturers and retailers and also education for kids to understand e-bike laws and road rules,” said the 17-year-old Hillsborough resident.
A Florida law championed by former Rep. Vicki Lopez, who then represented Key Biscayne, now allows municipalities to set age limits for e-bikes and scooters. The legislation, HB567, went into effect in 2025, but Key Biscayne has so far left the complete local ban in place.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story was originally published in the Key Biscayne Independent, a WLRN News partner.
