A Waterford teenager remained in critical condition Friday morning after the e-motorcycle he was operating was struck by a Chevrolet Equinox at the intersection of Airport Road and Williams Lake Road Thursday afternoon. Police say the teen was crossing the southbound side of the crosswalk when he disregarded a Do Not Walk signal, putting him directly in the SUV’s path as it moved through a green light.
According to The Oakland Press, Waterford police officers and the Waterford Regional Fire Department responded to the crash at approximately 5 p.m. The teen was transported to Corewell Health Hospital in Royal Oak, where he remained in critical condition as of Friday morning. The Equinox driver, a 35-year-old Highland Township woman, was not injured.
The Equinox had a green light at the time of the collision. The report does not say whether the teen will face citations, and the e-motorcycle’s speed, registration status, and whether the teen held the license endorsement required to legally operate it were not addressed in the available police account.
A String of Serious E-Moto Crashes Across Oakland County
Thursday’s crash is the latest in a run of serious e-moto collisions reported across Oakland County in recent weeks. On September 15, a 42-year-old Rochester Hills man suffered multiple serious injuries when the electric motorcycle he was riding on a sidewalk entered the path of a 2009 Ford Ranger near West Avon Road and Old Perch Road, the station’s report noted. That vehicle wasn’t registered and wasn’t legally permitted on either the sidewalk or the roadway, and the rider was not wearing a helmet.
A separate incident in Bloomfield Township left two 13-year-old boys critically injured after a pickup truck struck the e-moto-type bike they were riding while crossing Telegraph Road near Hickory Grove in a southbound crosswalk, according to WXYZ. One boy was taken to Trinity Health Oakland Hospital and the other to Corewell Health William Beaumont Hospital. The crash happened Monday, Sept. 7.
Speed and Safety Concerns Fuel Local Debate
The Bloomfield Township crash has already prompted local leaders to weigh a moratorium on the devices, and at least one resident raised alarm about how fast e-motos can travel compared with standard e-bikes. “Some are going like 40 mph or 30/35, so this is not good for kids,” the resident told WXYZ. E-motos, unlike standard e-bikes, can reach maximum speeds well above those of pedal-assist bicycles, raising the stakes when a collision occurs at a crosswalk or intersection.
The rise in such crashes mirrors a broader surge in e-bike and e-scooter injuries tracked regionally and nationally. Corewell Health’s emergency room at William Beaumont University Hospital in Royal Oak treated e-bike injury cases between January and mid-June this year, according to the Detroit News. The tally was 22 cases, 16 involving children.
Children were among those critically injured in the Bloomfield Township e-moto crash. WXYZ reported that e-motos are treated more like mopeds; the devices involved exceeded 20 mph, and their riders needed a driver’s license with a cycle endorsement.
No additional details on the Waterford teen’s identity or long-term prognosis have been released, and it remains unclear whether any citations will stem from Thursday’s crash. Waterford police have not indicated whether further information will be released as the teen’s condition is monitored at Corewell Health Hospital in Royal Oak.
