An Orange County mother faces involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of an 81-year-old man who died weeks after his son allegedly hit him with an electric motorcycle.
Ed Ashman, 81, died Thursday, two weeks after a 14-year-old boy doing a wheelie on an e-motorcycle near a high school struck him, seriously injuring him, the Orange County District Attorney’s office said.
Ashman, a Vietnam veteran and U.S. Marine Corps captain, was driving home from his job as a substitute teacher at the school.
The boy’s mother, Tommi Jo Major, 50, of Aliso Viejo, was arrested days after the crash and charged with child endangerment, accessory after the fact, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and providing false information to a peace officer.
After Ashman’s death, prosecutors added an involuntary manslaughter charge. Prosecutors said he faces up to seven years and eight months in prison if convicted on all counts.
Orange County Sheriff’s deputies had already warned Major that she could face criminal charges if she allowed her son to ride an electronic motorcycle. A motorcycle license is required to use the devices, and riders must also be 16 years of age or older. The boy’s electric motorcycle was a 2025 Cerrone Ultra B, Advertised by Sarron Capable of reaching a top speed of 56 mph.
Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer has vowed to prosecute parents who allow their children to ride e-motorcycles, or modify e-bikes to function that way, calling the devices “loaded weapons.” Meijer is the third parent charged by Spitzer’s office this year for allegedly allowing their children to illegally ride electric motorcycles.
“An American hero who flew combat missions in Vietnam could not survive running off the road in Lake Forest because of a 14-year-old boy who was allowed to ride an e-motorcycle that he should never have driven,” Spitzer said in a statement. “If parents won’t hold their kids accountable, then I will hold parents accountable for hurting and killing innocent people while riding illegal motor vehicles.”
