A Tuesday night e-bike ride turned into every parent’s worst nightmare for one Lorain family, and the driver who took off is still out there.
Relatives say 22-year-old Jayson Merry was struck and left in the road around 9:30 p.m. at Oberlin Avenue and West 12th Street. The impact left him with a skull fracture and a broken collarbone, injuries that family members say have completely upended their household as they wait for answers.
Family's account and crash details
Jayson’s mother, Crystal Dotson, shared a video of her son and spoke with News 5 Cleveland, explaining that her 22-year-old son, who is on the autism spectrum, used his e-bike as a key to independence. In the footage, he is seen confidently holding 65-pound weights, a snapshot of the strength his family says they are now counting on.
According to Dotson, the e-bike was outfitted with lights and turn signals, but those precautions did not prevent what happened next. Neighbors told investigators that a vehicle came up quickly from behind as Jayson waited to turn, hit him, and then kept going without stopping. A witness listed in the crash report described the driver as a woman in a charcoal-colored Ford Fusion.
Dotson also told the station that Jayson was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash. He was transported to University Hospitals' main campus in Cleveland, where she said he was sedated and awaiting surgery after suffering a skull fracture and a broken collarbone.
Police investigating and how to help
The Lorain Police Department's Traffic Division is handling the investigation and says the case remains active with limited publicly available details so far. Officers have not named a suspect and are asking residents to help fill in the gaps.
The department is looking for any home security, doorbell, or dash-camera footage from the area, as well as eyewitness accounts that could help identify the driver. The Traffic Division’s tip line is listed as (440) 204-2115 on the Lorain Police Department website, where additional contact options are also available.
E-bike safety and rising micromobility injuries
Jayson’s crash is playing out against a backdrop of rapidly rising injuries tied to e-bikes and other small electric rides. A Consumer Product Safety Commission analysis found that between 2017 and 2022, there were hundreds of thousands of emergency-department visits involving e-bikes, e-scooters, and similar micromobility devices.
Federal reviewers noted that crashes with motor vehicles and riders losing control are among the most common hazard patterns. Safety advocates say those numbers highlight just how vulnerable riders can be when they are sharing lanes with heavier, faster cars, especially in areas where protected bike lanes are scarce, and traffic speeds can vary sharply from block to block in neighborhoods like parts of Lorain.
Legal note
Under Ohio law, failing to stop after an accident is a crime. The Ohio Revised Code specifies that if a crash results in serious physical harm, leaving the scene can be charged as a felony and includes mandatory license suspension and restitution requirements. Penalties increase if the driver knew the collision caused serious injury. Those obligations and penalties are detailed in ORC 4549.02.
Dotson says she wants the person who hit her son to come forward and is urging neighbors and drivers in the area to review any doorbell or dash-camera footage from that night. Anyone with information can contact the Lorain Police Traffic Division at (440) 204-2115 or reach out through the contact options listed on the department’s website.
