Bend mayor pro tem advocates for e-bike educational panel after teenager is struck and killed

(Update: Adding video, comments from Perkins, Bend Police)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Bend Mayor Pro Tem Megan Perkins is pitching an e-bike educational event/panel to local representatives after a 15-year-old was struck and killed on an e-bike last weekend in NE Bend.

Perkins told NewsChannel 21 Friday, "I think the really brutal part about all of this is that we all felt a sense of inevitability about it."

Earlier this week, she sent out two tweets, with one mentioning state Rep. Emerson Levy, D-Bend, about a potential meeting to discuss and figure out ways to make riding e-bikes safer. She asked her followers who they would like to see attend and also asked what the public what they would like to see addressed at the meeting.

Parents responded with concerns about e-bikes on sidewalks, and speed.

A memorial for the teen who was killed now sits at the site in northeast Bend at Dean Swift Road and Highway 20.

The teen was riding on the sidewalk, heading westbound against eastbound traffic, with a passenger on the back, when he was struck by a minivan, police said.

Bend Police Communications Manager Sheila Miller told us, "This is a really early version of our investigation. It could turn out that the e-bike was not the main cause of this fatality. It could be that this child could have unfortunately been killed riding a regular pedal bike."

Perkins explained what conversations would take place in the panel.

"What can we do now? How can we enforce things now, and what do we need to clean up from a legislative standpoint, or from a city standpoint, or even how do we make bike lanes safer for teens so that way they aren't riding these on sidewalks?"

It's illegal to operate an e-bike, and ride without a helmet in the state of Oregon unless you're 16 years of age or older.

Bend Police said it was the first e-bike fatality in the city.

Miller explained why e-bikes are dangerous and illegal for young teens to operate: "The reason e-bikes are illegal for kids 16 and under is because kids 16 and under typically haven't taken drivers ed courses. They don't necessarily know the rules of the road."

She continued, "And so when we hear complaints from the public about e-bike riders, it's typically that they aren't riding with traffic, they're riding against traffic, maybe they are going in and out of sidewalks."

Perkins envisions an educational event for all who need to know the rules of the road. "Maybe get your helmet checked. It's not a punitive event, it's just to really get community involvement on this really important issue that we're facing right now."

Police are hoping parents encourage their kids to follow state laws and rules to prevent any future tragedies.

"It's always tragic, no matter who's involved," Miller said Friday. "But whenever there is a child who's killed in an accident like this, it's even more devastating for everyone, and our community."

Perkins said, "I've never seen people so engaged on an issue. And I really believe it's because we have a lot of parents in our community that just feel for that family right now -- they lost a child."