By: Hannah Zhang

Brodee Champlain Kingman became one of the unfortunate teenage victims of E-bike crashes. When his mother, Clarrissa Champlain, learned of his tragic accident in late June, she hurriedly rushed to the hospital only to see him in his critical condition. All she wanted to do was “grab his head and kiss him,” but his head wasn’t even there. Instead, all that was left from the impact was a devasting scene.

Merely three days after Brodee’s deathly incident, another teenager was faced a similar situation. This time, however, he was injured, but, thankfully, not fatally. The police informed the New York Times that the teen was at fault for driving recklessly.

Another girl by the name of Molly Steinsapir, age 12, experienced a fate strikingly like Brodee’s, leaving her grieving parents and two younger brothers behind. Her parents took legal action against the company responsible for the E-bikes involved in Molly’s death: Rad Power Bikes.

Kaye and Jonathan Steinsapir argued that a flaw in the bike’s design contributed to Molly’s tragic demise. Their lawsuit claimed that Rad Power Bikes engaged in “inappropriate marketing of e-bikes to children” and failed to warn teens about the potential dangers associated with using E-Bikes. The number of trips to the ER due to E-bike accidents rose by 17,700 between 2017 and the last year.

In response to the complaints, a Rad Power Bikes salesperson expressed their condolences to the Steinsapir family for the loss of Molly Steinsapir. The accident took place on January 31st, 2021.