WALNUT CREEK, CA — A Contra Costa mother and father face misdemeanor child abuse charges after prosecutors alleged they repeatedly allowed an unlicensed minor to ride a high-powered e-moto illegally and dangerously before a serious Walnut Creek crash left the child badly injured.
The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office charged 58-year-old Steven Leroy Crews and 58-year-old Jeanna Marie Gabellini, both of Benicia, with one count of child abuse.
Prosecutors are arguing that the pair willfully permitted a child to be injured or placed in a situation where the child’s health was endangered between Oct. 19, 2024, and Sept. 18, 2025.
The charges stem from a Sept. 18 collision at Treat Boulevard and Arkell Road, where the Contra Costa County DA said the minor, identified in court records as John Doe, crashed a Surron Light Bee e-moto into a minivan around 3:05 p.m. The child suffered severe injuries requiring emergency treatment. Police said the minivan driver was not injured and remained at the scene.
Walnut Creek police investigators said witness accounts and other evidence showed the minor rode the e-moto at unsafe speeds and in an unlawful manner on Treat Boulevard before the crash, according to a news statement from the Contra Costa DA's office.
Prosecutors allege in their filing that the parents allowed the child to ride the vehicle repeatedly from ages 14 to 17 despite citations and repeated warnings from law enforcement.
District Attorney Diana Becton framed the prosecution as a warning about parental responsibility as electric two-wheel vehicles spread on public streets.
“Parents must understand the dangers these vehicles can pose to children if operated unlawfully and without proper driver education,” Becton said in a statement, citing California laws aimed at public safety offenses involving e-bikes and e-motos.
Crews and Gabellini were arraigned in Contra Costa County court on March 27.
Their defense attorneys pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor child abuse on behalf of the couple, who did not appear in court. A pre-trial conference is scheduled for June 4.
Contra Costa County Superior Court judge ordered the parents to take their son’s e-moto bike away until the case is resolved, according to reports.
E-bikes and motos proliferated more quickly than rules to govern their use, leaving cities and states seeking strategies.
Beginning Jan. 1, parents can be held financially and legally responsible if their children ride e-bikes or e-motorcycles in violation of new laws. This case tests how aggressively to use the new law involving youth-operated e-motos cases.
MORE: When E-Bikes Meet the Law: CA’s Fight Over Safety, Speed, And Accountability
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