An 11-year-old is being sued over his involvement in an e-bike crash which allegedly caused an SUV driver to fatally mow down a four-year-old on the sidewalk.
Ayden Fang was killed as he played outside a restaurant in Burlingame, California on August 8, 2025.
A devastating chain of events began as the 11-year-old was riding on his e-bike in a parking lot with his ten-year-old sister, according to a lawsuit filed by Ayden’s devastated father Ming Fang.
At the same time, an SUV Jeep being driven by Mari Abey, 19, pulled out and collided with the children on the e-bike, per the filings.
The crash caused Abey to hit the accelerator pedal instead of the brake, speed up to 27mph and plow into Ayden on the sidewalk, the lawsuit alleged.
Her SUV fatally struck Ayden and crashed through the front of a restaurant where his parents were eating and they found him dead beneath the vehicle, according to the complaint.
Fang’s civil lawsuit accused the e-bike rider of being too young to use the vehicle, claimed Abey was at fault by being an inexperienced driver and alleged the city of Burlingame knew the parking lot had a problematic layout.
‘Ayden was cheated of his years,’ the grieving father told the San Francisco Chronicle. ‘Ayden’s sibling is cheated (out) of a loving brother and best friend.
Ayden Fang, 4, was tragically killed on August 8, 2025 when he was struck by an SUV, and a new lawsuit from his parents alleged that young boy riding an e-bike set off a chain reaction that led to the wreck
Ayden’s father Ming Fang accused the city of Burlingame, California of being at fault as well as the SUV driver and the young e-bike rider, as he said ‘Ayden was cheated of his years’
‘My wife and I were cheated of the sacred right of parents, watching their child grow from a toddler into a teenager, into an adult and blossom through that.
‘All of that shattered. How can that be OK? How can there not be any consequences?’
Fang said he decided to file the civil lawsuit after the San Mateo District Attorney’s Office declined to file criminal charges against Abey in January.
At the time prosecutors said they did not have sufficient evidence to prove vehicular manslaughter against the driver.
Fang said he named the city of Burlingame in his lawsuit because he believes the city-owned parking lot where his son was killed was not appropriately designed or maintained.
‘We want to expose all the broken regulations, the infrastructure, improve pedestrian safety and make the community safer for other families,’ he said.
He alleges in his lawsuit that the city knew for some time that the driveway where Abey was pulling out from was dangerous, particularly because the view of incoming traffic is blocked at the exit.
Abey told first responders that she could not see the siblings on the e-bike because an SUV was parked next to the exit, the lawsuit said.
According to the filing, the city received almost a dozen complaints about the parking lot in the years before the crash, and was planning to remove the parking space as part of a 2025 project that had not been completed.
A police car at the entrance of the parking lot where Ayden was hit, which the lawsuit alleged had design issues that blocked drivers’ view of oncoming traffic
The heartbroken parents said they decided to file the civil lawsuit to hold those responsible accountable, after the San Mateo District Attorney’s Office declined to file criminal charges against the SUV driver in January
Fang also accused the city of ignoring safety issues and cited figures showing the pedestrian fatality rate in Burlingame is three to four times higher than the per-capita national annual average.
In naming the young e-bike rider, Fang’s lawsuit criticized the city for failing to introduce stricter policies for who can ride the vehicles, which can reach speeds of over 20mph.
The lawsuit said the boy’s parents should not have let him ride the e-bike on busy streets, and said the owner’s manual noted the minimum age for riders as 12.
‘The (city’s) inaction after Ayden’s death is illustrative of the (city’s) years-long refusal to take pedestrian safety seriously,’ attorneys told the Chronicle. ‘There is no excuse for the (city’s) continued silence and failure to act to prevent future pedestrian deaths.’
The lawsuit also alleged that Abey should not have been behind the wheel, saying that she had only just gotten her driver’s license and was taking medications that can impair judgement.
Ayden’s family said they have been left devastated by the incident, and described him as a ‘bright, energetic little boy with a huge heart and a positive outlook.’
‘It pains me to think about Ayden’s smile, his hugs and his kisses. But this civil litigation, we are hoping to use it to make sure at least one other family will not experience the same unspeakable suffering my wife and I will for the rest of all time,’ Fang said.
The Daily Mail has contacted the city of Burlingame for comment.
