A Yorba Linda father is facing up to six years in state prison after he helped modify his 12-year-old son’s e-bike into a high-speed e-motorcycle that the boy was riding when he was seriously injured in a crash, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
Richard John Eyssallenne, 39, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to one felony count of child endangerment and abuse and one misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The charges stem from a July 20, 2025, crash that left his son hospitalized with severe injuries.
Kimberly Edds, director of public affairs for the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, described how the father and son altered the bike. “The father has been charged with helping his son modify an e-bike into an e-motorcycle by changing the pedals to motorcycle pegs and then also removing the governor on the bike, which limits the speed of it to 20 mph, and rewiring it so that it could be driven up to 60 mph,” Edds told NBC4.
The boy had received a 2024 Talaria XXX as a Christmas gift. After modification, the bike’s motor had a peak output of 5,000 watts — well above the 750-watt legal ceiling for e-bikes. The factory speed limiter wire had been cut and connected to a key switch, allowing the rider to bypass the speed cap entirely and push the bike to 60 mph. The factory pedals were also replaced with motorcycle pegs, which legally disqualified the vehicle from being classified as an e-bike under California law.
The crash happened around 2 p.m. on July 20, at the intersection of Via Lomas De Yorba West and La Palma Avenue in Yorba Linda. Authorities say the boy ran a red light and was struck by a Honda Civic. A driver behind the Civic captured the collision on video. The boy was wearing a helmet, though it was unclear if it was properly secured. He was hospitalized with a concussion, an intracranial bleed, a skull fracture, a broken wrist, and a fractured femur.
The crash did not happen without warning signs. According to the East Bay Times, the boy had been cited in December 2024 for illegally riding the e-motorcycle, and the bike had been impounded at that time. The following month, Eyssallenne brought both his sons to an e-bike safety course hosted by Yorba Linda Police Services — just six months before the crash.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer issued a sharp warning to parents across the region. “There is absolutely no reason that an unlicensed, untrained child with no concept of the rules of the road should be riding a motorcycle that can go up to 60 miles per hour next to cars on a public street and think that by some miracle they are going to be safe,” Spitzer said in a statement. “Parents who buy their child an E-motorcycle and let them ride them illegally or help modify e-bikes to transform them into E-motorcycles are handing their children a loaded weapon — and those parents are going to be prosecuted.”
Under California law, e-bikes and e-motorcycles are classified differently based on motor power, top speed, and whether the bike has working pedals. Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes carry no age or licensing requirements. Class 3 requires riders to be at least 16. Once a bike exceeds those thresholds — through design or modification — it is treated as a motorcycle and requires a valid license, registration, insurance, and a license plate. The 2024 Talaria XXX, as modified, clearly crossed that line.
The Yorba Linda case is part of a broader wave of concern about minors on electric bikes across Southern California. Last week, Newport Beach police conducted enforcement operations near neighborhood schools, issuing dozens of citations, impounding three e-bikes, and arresting two juveniles who fled on illegally modified e-motorcycles. In a single day, officers stopped 46 e-bike riders and issued 37 administrative citations, 14 vehicle code citations, and 12 warnings.
Children’s Hospital of Orange County treated 201 e-bike trauma patients last year, up from 125 the year prior, underscoring the growing toll of e-bike-related injuries on young riders.
Sergeant Mike Thomas of the Huntington Beach Police Department said safety seminars in his city go beyond basic instruction. “Part of our training is not only doing the practical exercises and the hands-on training, but we also go into and actually showing some of the advertisements of some of the well-known manufacturers that are selling these bikes online and showing them what the difference is and really opening their eyes to what an actual legal versus illegal device is,” Thomas told NBC4.
Edds summed up the district attorney’s position plainly. “If you fail to follow those laws, you as a parent are going to be held accountable,” she said.
Eyssallenne’s case is ongoing. If convicted on all counts, he faces a maximum of six years in state prison. Residents interested in e-bike safety seminars can contact their local police department for more information.
