Bicyclist killed on causeway raises e-bike safety concerns
By Jenny Jacoby | Coconut Grove Spotlight
August 19, 2025 at 12:30 PM EDT
A 54-year-old man died from his injuries Friday evening after a bicycle accident on the Rickenbacker Causeway — the latest in a series of cyclist fatalities on the busy and popular roadway linking Coconut Grove and Key Biscayne.
It is the ninth fatal bike crash on the causeway in the past 19 years and the second major e-bike incident in the Coconut Grove area in the past month.
According to police, Fabian Moses was riding in the eastbound bike lane at approximately 8:20 p.m. when he was struck from behind by a 14-year-old boy riding an e-bike. The boy was riding with a juvenile female on the back of the bike.
Moses was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The boy, who has not been identified, also suffered injuries and remains hospitalized. Police say it’s unclear if either rider was wearing a helmet.
The girl was not injured.
Charges are pending, police say.
Moses is believed to be the first cyclist to perish along the causeway following a collision with a motorized bike. All other fatalities involved cars.
READ MORE: 16 months after Megan Andrews death, e-bike and scooter bill becomes Florida law
Calls to separate cars and cyclists along the causeway intensified in 2006 after Omar Otaola, a 33-year-old father of two, was killed after being hit by a truck on the Bear Cut Bridge connecting Virginia Key to Key Biscayne.
County officials responded with markings to separate cars from bicycles.
Two fatal hit-and-runs, in 2010 and 2012, prompted even further improvements to the bridge’s bike lanes, including a second white line with vibration ridges. In 2017, the causeway installed its first green bike lane, intended to increase the visibility of cyclists.
A memorial to Ochoa and others killed in the area – known as “Ghost Bikes” for their all-white paint — now sits just west of the Bear Cut Bridge.
Friday’s incident is the second involving an e-bike in Coconut Grove in the past month. In late July a 12-year-old girl was seriously injured after crashing an e-bike into the back of a car on South Bayshore Drive.
A new Florida law will allow municipalities to set their own e-bike and scooter age restrictions. The law, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on June 19, was in response to the Feb. 14, 2024 death of Megan Andrews, a Key Biscayne resident, who was killed on her bike after colliding with an e-bike operated by a 12-year-old.
A 2020 Florida law removed the age restriction, previously 16, on who could ride e-bikes and scooters. It still requires anyone under 16 to wear a helmet.
Friday’s crash comes just days before Key Biscayne’s Village Council — which previously banned e-bikes and scooters from sidewalks and roadways under its jurisdiction – was set to discuss setting a minimum operating age of 18 for all electric bicycles and motorized scooters.
This story was originally published in the Coconut Grove Spotlight, a WLRN News partner.
It is the ninth fatal bike crash on the causeway in the past 19 years and the second major e-bike incident in the Coconut Grove area in the past month.
According to police, Fabian Moses was riding in the eastbound bike lane at approximately 8:20 p.m. when he was struck from behind by a 14-year-old boy riding an e-bike. The boy was riding with a juvenile female on the back of the bike.
Moses was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The boy, who has not been identified, also suffered injuries and remains hospitalized. Police say it’s unclear if either rider was wearing a helmet.
The girl was not injured.
Charges are pending, police say.
Moses is believed to be the first cyclist to perish along the causeway following a collision with a motorized bike. All other fatalities involved cars.
READ MORE: 16 months after Megan Andrews death, e-bike and scooter bill becomes Florida law
Calls to separate cars and cyclists along the causeway intensified in 2006 after Omar Otaola, a 33-year-old father of two, was killed after being hit by a truck on the Bear Cut Bridge connecting Virginia Key to Key Biscayne.
County officials responded with markings to separate cars from bicycles.
Two fatal hit-and-runs, in 2010 and 2012, prompted even further improvements to the bridge’s bike lanes, including a second white line with vibration ridges. In 2017, the causeway installed its first green bike lane, intended to increase the visibility of cyclists.
A memorial to Ochoa and others killed in the area – known as “Ghost Bikes” for their all-white paint — now sits just west of the Bear Cut Bridge.
Friday’s incident is the second involving an e-bike in Coconut Grove in the past month. In late July a 12-year-old girl was seriously injured after crashing an e-bike into the back of a car on South Bayshore Drive.
A new Florida law will allow municipalities to set their own e-bike and scooter age restrictions. The law, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on June 19, was in response to the Feb. 14, 2024 death of Megan Andrews, a Key Biscayne resident, who was killed on her bike after colliding with an e-bike operated by a 12-year-old.
A 2020 Florida law removed the age restriction, previously 16, on who could ride e-bikes and scooters. It still requires anyone under 16 to wear a helmet.
Friday’s crash comes just days before Key Biscayne’s Village Council — which previously banned e-bikes and scooters from sidewalks and roadways under its jurisdiction – was set to discuss setting a minimum operating age of 18 for all electric bicycles and motorized scooters.
This story was originally published in the Coconut Grove Spotlight, a WLRN News partner.