Child killed in e-bike crash in Burlington County, according to police
Emergency responders were called to the corner of Route 70 and Tranquility Court in Southampton Township around 10:45 a.m. Tuesday.
A child is dead following a collision with a delivery truck while riding an electric bicycle in Burlington County on Tuesday morning.
Emergency responders were called to the corner of Route 70 and Tranquility Court in Southampton Township around 10:45 a.m. Tuesday after a crash involving a juvenile riding an e-bike and a UPS driver, according to New Jersey State Police officials.
The rider, who has not been publicly identified, was pronounced dead. The police were unable to provide the rider’s age or any other details.
“We are heartbroken by the tragic accident in Southampton Township, NJ,” UPS said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and loved ones. We are fully cooperating with authorities to understand what happened.”
While the exact circumstances surrounding the incident remain unclear, the tragedy comes as debate around the safety of e-bikes continues to rage across the country given their increased speed and weight compared to traditional bicycles.
New Jersey is home to some of the toughest legislation nationwide aimed at restricting and regulating the exceedingly popular transportation option.
The new regulations were born of a similar incident — a 13-year-old Scotch Plains boy died after colliding with a landscaping truck while riding his e-bike last September.
Starting in July, all e-bikes in the Garden State must be registered and insured, whether they are low-speed e-bikes, which require pedaling and cannot exceed 20 mph, or high-speed bikes, called motorized bicycles or e-motos, which can go up to 28 mph.
Riders will also need to be at least 15 years old and need a motorized bicycle license to ride. Those 17 and older can ride an e-bike using a driver’s license.
The New Jersey law treats all e-bikes as the same, whereas most other states that regulate e-bikes tend to focus on e-motos when it comes to license and insurance requirements. The slower pedal-assist bikes face a patchwork of regulations across the country, with some restrictions on where they can go.