Amazon has halted California sales of e-bikes that don’t adhere to state law following a number of fatal collisions involving those or somewhat-similar vehicles and a consumer alert by the state’s attorney general last month.

The company’s decision comes after the Orange County District Attorney’s Office in recent months filed charges against a Yorba Linda father and an Aliso Viejo mother for allegedly being complicit in their kids’ reckless behavior on e-motorcycles, leading to serious crashes.

In both cases, the teenagers were riding illegal electric motorcycles, with top speeds of higher than the 20-mph limit for Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes and the 28-mph limit for Class 3 e-bikes, prosecutors said.

Amazon’s decision comes just after 13-year-old Benson Nguyen of Santa Ana died after a crash while riding an electric motorcycle at about 35 mph in Garden Grove, police said.

Electric motorcycles, or e-motos, are often mistaken for e-bikes.

Attorney General Rob Bonta’s consumer alert was issued in April.

“Sometimes, what looks like an e-bike or is marketed as an e-bike is not a bike at all,” Bonta said in a statement. “We are seeing a surge of safety incidents on our sidewalks, parks and streets. Bike riders and parents: If your or your teen’s electric two-wheeled vehicle goes too fast, it might be a motorcycle or a moped — not an e-bike.”

Amazon’s announcement was first reported by KCRA after the Sacramento news station contacted the company, the station reported.

“A search on Amazon revealed numerous e-bikes advertised with speeds over 40 miles per hour,” the station said. “The company said it has removed the examples provided and is investigating compliance for similar products.”

In a statement to the Southern California News Group on Monday, May 11, Amazon said it requires all products offered in its store to comply with applicable laws, regulations and Amazon policies and that it was in the process of removing e-bike listings that don’t comply with the state’s speed-limit regulations.

On Sunday morning, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer also weighed in on X, formerly Twitter.

“More than 100 deaths across the United States have resulted from e-bike and e-motorcycle crashes,” he said.

While e-bikes are legal in California as long as they comply with state law, off-road electric motorcycles, which are equipped with pegs instead of pedals, are not legal to ride on public roadways.

The announcement comes as lawmakers and law enforcement continue trying to find ways to regulate e-bikes, some of which have been altered by riders to exceed the speeds allowed by law, making them potentially more dangerous.

In the Yorba Linda case, a 39-year-old man faces charges alleging he was involved in modifying his son’s e-motorcycle, allowing it to reach speeds upward of 60 mph, prosecutors said. The boy had previously had the e-motorcycle impounded by law enforcement and he and his father attended an e-bike safety course, authorities have said. Six months later, the boy allegedly ran a red light while on the e-motorcycle and was hit by a car, causing serious injuries.

In Aliso Viejo, Tommi Jo Mejer, 50, authorities say, had been warned about the dangers of allowing her 14-year-old son to ride an e-motorcycle and continued to let him ride, leading to a crash that killed 81-year-old Ed Ashman, a Vietnam war veteran and El Toro High School substitute teacher.

Mejer has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, among with other offenses. Her son was arrested but, because of his age, it is unclear if he was charged with any crime.

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