A 13-year-old boy whose parents are facing criminal charges after his death on an electric motorbike was traveling significantly faster than initially reported, Our News Outlet can reveal.
Benson Nguyen, from Santa Ana, California, died in May of this year when he crashed his $4,299 Eride Pro SS 2.0 electric motorbike in Garden Grove.
His father, Vu Thanh Nguyen, 56, and mother, Hong Cuc Thi Nguyen, 49, were charged earlier this week with child endangerment and could face jail time if convicted. It is not clear whether either parent has entered a plea. Our News Outlet has contacted the couple for comment.
Officials initially said Benson was traveling at about 35 mph. However, Our News Outlet understands that he was actually traveling at 45 mph when he hit a raised central divider.
Our News Outlet has also uncovered videos posted to Nguyen’s TikTok account showing him speeding along a main boulevard in Westminster, California.
In one striking clip, he mounts a curb at high speed before disappearing into the distance as a friend records the scene.
The person filming then reveals why Nguyen appeared to be speeding: two police cars, with their lights flashing and sirens sounding, enter the frame in pursuit of him.
Because of the bike’s speed, Nguyen is already out of sight by the time the police vehicles come into view.
Other videos appear to show him riding into oncoming traffic while performing a wheelie and balancing on the electric motorbike with one leg.
Benson Nguyen, from Santa Ana, California, died in May after crashing his $4,299 Eride Pro SS 2.0 electric motorbike.
Our News Outlet uncovered videos from Nguyen’s TikTok account showing him performing dangerous stunts on roads in Orange County.
The 13-year-old frequently posted videos of himself riding on main roads, including footage that appeared to show him fleeing police.
A month before his death, Nguyen had been riding a Tuttio electric bike. He later said on TikTok that he had obtained the Eride model just three weeks before the fatal crash. The manufacturer says the bike can reach a top speed of 55 mph.
Nguyen was thrown from the motorbike during the May crash. Police said he was wearing a helmet, but it was a standard bicycle helmet rather than protective equipment designed for motorbike use.
A coroner’s report obtained by Our News Outlet found that Nguyen died from blunt-force injuries to his abdomen.
The report documented efforts by doctors to save the boy’s life, including surgery to open his abdomen.
It said medical professionals had operated on Nguyen in an attempt to control his injuries. At the time of his autopsy, surgical towels remained inside his body to help stop the bleeding.
The report also recorded abrasions and contusions across his body, along with a laceration to the front of his left arm.
Prosecutors pursuing the case against Nguyen’s parents said California law classifies the vehicle as a motorbike because it does not have a pedal-assist system. State law prohibits children under 16 from riding such bikes.
Nguyen’s mother was charged with misdemeanor child endangerment on Tuesday. Prosecutors said she could face up to one year in county jail if convicted.
His father, meanwhile, has been charged with felony child endangerment and an additional misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
His father Vu Thanh Nguyen, 56, and his mother Hong Cuc Thi Nguyen, 49, are facing possible jail time after being hit with charges of child endangerment
In one clip, the youngster is seen balancing himself on the rear of an electric motorbike while not wearing a helmet
Nguyen was thrown from the motorbike in the May crash, with police saying that he was wearing a helmet but it was a traditional bicycle helmet and not designed for motorbike use
According to public records, Hong runs her own beauty clinic in Westminster where the family live in an apartment.
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His father Vu had a state license to work as a manicurist, but posts to his social media point to him now being involved in construction work.
Vu is facing the extra charge after prosecutors said he bought his son a ‘faster and more powerful’ motorbike despite being warned that his son’s behavior was reckless and had been repeatedly injured in the past while riding a different bike.
Prosecutors said that just six months before his death Nguyen had broken his leg while riding a different motorbike. If convicted on all counts, Vu could spend as much as six years behind bars.
A spokesperson for the Orange County District Attorney’s Office told Our News Outlet this week that the charges of the parents were the start of a widespread crackdown.
Officials have gone door to door throughout the county speaking with retailers of the bike warning them of their duties to inform buyers that they are not street legal and not made for children, the spokesperson said.
The DA’s office has also seized a motorbike that they said the owner of had managed to alter to travel at speeds of 85 mph.
After the announcement this week of charges against Nguyen’s mother and father, a flurry of other parents were also charged.
Alex Li was hit with the misdemeanor after prosecutors said he allowed his son, 11, to ride an electric bike with an output of 1200 watts, over the limit of 750 watts to even have it classified as a motorbike.
In June, Li’s son suffered broken bones and an arterial bleed after slamming into a pickup truck while traveling at 33 mph in Yorba Linda, prosecutors said.
Mother Maria Roehling, meanwhile, allegedly let her nine-year-old son have an electric bike capable of traveling at 47 mph when he was hit by a pickup truck, officials said.
Prosecutors said that just six months before his death Nguyen had broken his leg while riding a different motorbike
Nguyen is seen here fleeing from police on his motorbike at high speed by mounting a sidewalk
An image of his motorbike is seen here following the crash that claimed his life
She is facing a felony count of child endangerment and infraction for allowing a child to drive a motor vehicle without a license, prosecutors said. If convicted on all counts, she faces six years behind bars.
Dan Rezmives was hit with one count of child endangerment and another for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Prosecutors said he let his 12-year-old ride an electric bike that he bought him for Christmas on city streets at speeds of 50 miles per hour. He faces a year in county jail if convicted.
Parents Hulin Guo and Xiaomin Wang face the same two counts each after their son, 17, led Newport Beach on a pursuit at a speed of 40mph on his electric motorbike, prosecutors said.
The youngster, officials claimed, resorted to driving around pedestrians on sidewalks and down one way streets after refusing to pull over, police had to abandon the pursuit due to his reckless driving, prosecutors said.
Jose Ramirezbarragan, 33, is accused of allowing his 15-year-old brother ride his electric motorbike around La Palma and led police on a chase at speeds of 40mph, prosecutors said. He is facing a charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and a year in county jail if found guilty.
It is unclear at this time how all of the above named people have pled. Phone calls to Wang and his wife, Rezmives and Li went unanswered. Cell numbers for Roehling and Ramirezbarragan were not publicly available.
Announcing the charges, District Attorney Todd Spitzer said: ‘We don’t want to have to prosecute parents – we want to save kids’ lives.
‘When parents refuse to parent and tell their kids ‘no’ when it comes to riding something that is dangerous and illegal, then I have no choice but to hold parents accountable and file criminal charges.
‘Kids are getting seriously injured and killed and I refuse to allow another child to be hurt or killed because I didn’t do everything I could to send a message that these vehicles are not child’s play.
‘If you’re going to hand the keys to a deadly weapon to your child, then be prepared to face the consequences of your actions.’
