People on Social Media are up in arms because an 11 year old kid has been arrested and charged for riding an electric motorcycle (he called it an ‘electric bike’) to the pond down the street to go fishing.
Here is a link to the actual news story about the case. In the recording of that court appearance, Cade can be heard saying he knew his e-bike was actually a motorcycle. Police said the motorbike was capable of traveling 50 MPH and was powered by a 4,500-watt motor. It was likely this one.
After the hearing, Cade’s father, Chris Kirchner, commented on the court appearance.
“How ridiculous that he had to miss school for that,” Chris Kirchner said.
I have a different take from my own personal experience: Jacob was just 12 years old when he was struck by a car while riding his bike on a dark country road 30 years ago. When I found him unconscious and covered in his own blood on the side of the road, I ran my hands down his back to check for injuries and the fingers of my right hand sunk into his lower back. His entire back was ripped open by that hit and run driver. He died right there on the side of the road, not 40 feet from the bike he had been riding.
As a paramedic who has seen this play out time and time again, I think this child has no business riding a motorcycle on the road, whether it is 300 feet or 300 miles. The roads are a dangerous place, and an 11 year old child doesn’t belong there. Not only should he be charged for riding it, the parents should be charged for letting him buy and ride a motorcycle.
Those cops may very well have saved his life. I’ve seen comments where people say something like “Maybe he should get a Glock with a switch,” or “Why aren’t the cops out there catching REAL criminals?” Like it or not, this IS a real crime, and it’s one that is intended to save lives. According to the National Institutes of Health, auto accidents are the leading cause of death in children and adolescents.
Then the lilbertarians showed up.
everyone should be allowed to drive around with no tags dl or insurance. unless there’s a valid reason to stop them. I don’t view cars and motorcycles any differently than I view bicycles or horses, neither of which need those things (in most places).
Completely ignoring the fact that this is an 11 year old child.
25 Comments
Barefoot Peckerwood · October 2, 2026 at 6:57 am
You know how many times I ride a dirt bike to go fishing, visit cousins/friends and pick shit up for my parents? All within a 15 mile radius. He’ll, 1 time my bike was broke dow and I took the riding lawnmower 4 miles into town..
COUNTLESS..
You sound like a screeching boomer in this post DM. Normally, I agree with 90% of your views, but you sound ridiculous on this one.
Divemedic · October 2, 2026 at 7:39 am
Are you 11 years old? No? Then this isnt comparable.
Come talk to me after you’ve held a dead kid.
Barefoot Peckerwood · October 2, 2026 at 8:32 am
I was 9-14 while I did this. It is a parent’s job to manage/raise their children, not the State.
Divemedic · October 2, 2026 at 9:47 am
Not every parent does, unfortunately. See my latest post.
Steady Steve · October 3, 2026 at 1:23 pm
If the parents want Darwin to raise their child, so be it. I’m sure you’ve seen the results of such which can be awful. However I think the nanny state takes things too far.
TCK · October 3, 2026 at 3:47 am
I think DM’s point here is that the “dirt bike” here was actually an electric vehicle capable of highway speeds. Are there 11 year olds who can be trusted to be safe and responsible with that? Probably, but most likely can’t (personally I’d say the same of most adults I’ve seen using the things, and don’t even get me started on those electric scooters).
James · October 2, 2026 at 7:32 am
I see no victimn,thus,I see no crime.
With that said,do feel depending on the bike and it’s capabilities perhaps not a smart choice for the kid,but,parents know child better then me.
At that age many of us had dirt bikes,we all survived even with their capabilities which far exceded this machine presented.
Divemedic · October 2, 2026 at 7:40 am
Ridden it in the street?
James · October 2, 2026 at 6:44 pm
Directly on the street except crossing(looking both ways) to get to other trail no.
We did though eh…..,ride side saddle slow just off of the pavement(in country,no sidewalks etc.,and would hop off and walk em running if we saw the PD,they let it slide.
I will say was last of generation that could literally dirtbike to high school,was cool as older guys trying to steal our girlfriends but they the girls loved the dirtbikes and getting out into the country side,good times.
OldToolFool · October 2, 2026 at 7:59 am
About 15 years ago when I live on the eastern shore of MD. I was out on my boat and noticed a whole bunch of DNR activity on the water. Turns out, two kids had been riding jet skis and at least one of them died. Totally illegal, they had been playing chicken. These things do 50 mph upon the water. The parents put not only there kids but every one on the water at risk. It’s simple, the parents, who knew, were irresponsible & should have been charged. They weren’t, “they had suffered enough”, sometimes you need to send a message. Look at the tiktoc vids of kids on bikes playing chicken.
Riddle · October 2, 2026 at 12:48 pm
The story I read was that he was in the shallow ditch next to the road because he knew he couldn’t ride on the road or the sidewalk that was on the other side of the ditch. I read you daily and much admire your take on things, but, I think you went off half-cocked on this one. Have a good one!
Divemedic · October 2, 2026 at 1:28 pm
Here is a screengrab from the officer’s bodycam. Tell me where the ditch is, then you can tell me who went off half cocked.
TCK · October 3, 2026 at 3:55 am
At least he was wearing a helmet, unlike the dumbass on the E-scooter a few months ago who would’ve put his head through (or at least into, the scooters thankfully can’t get the same speed as the mini-motorcycles) my passenger side window if he’d aimed a bit more to the left when he crashed into my (motionless at the intersection and completely visible) car.
J J · October 2, 2026 at 7:39 am
Is it normal in Florida for juveniles to be fingerprinted on the side of the road for a traffic violation?
Now the kid’s prints are in the system for the rest of his life.
No, he shouldn’t have been riding a dirt bike on the streets. But Officer Karen should have taken him home and scolded his parents for allowing their child to operate his motorbike on the street.
Divemedic · October 2, 2026 at 9:57 am
It is, because there is no other way to identify him. They use his thumbprint in lieu of identification, which he isn’t yet old enough to have.
Jeff · October 2, 2026 at 8:04 am
When we were small (11-13) my sister, brother and I had 2 stroke 80cc Suzuki RM’s. They had pipes and aftermarket reeds, and to this day I’d swear they were as fast as a 600 cc sport bike till you hit about 50 MPH. We would- illegally zip all over town on those things. Got caught by the cops more than a few times- they would call our parents, who then had to come get the bikes. Never once were we arrested, booked or thrown in jail. Sure would have spoiled me ending up as a police officer for sure. We did wear helmets , gloves, boots and chest protectors.
Our city eventually instituted a moped license for those too young to drive. Required a class, registration of your under 35MPH moped, helmet rule and a requirement to follow all road rules and laws-something that would probably keep kids these days from injuring and killing themselves at the rate these electric bikes are doing.
Divemedic · October 2, 2026 at 8:25 am
My point is made here. Giving you a stern warning did absolutely nothing.
SiG · October 2, 2026 at 9:04 am
You know, I don’t think I’ve seen anything quite as stupid as equating a motorcycle to a riding lawnmower. Electric or gas powered. A motorcycle has two large wheels and while only some can corner at angles that put the rider’s knee on the ground, they all fall on one side easily. Those wheels are many times larger than the lawnmower’s as is this little thing called “wheelbase” that says with those tires so far apart on the lawnmower, it’s hard to turn it far enough to ride on one side. That’s something that anyone who has mowed their own yard or tried to do work on a mower would know.
Steve · October 2, 2026 at 9:32 am
Sure, many of you have an anecdotal memory of not being harmed by breaking the law and putting your lives and the lives of others at risk.
Goodie for you. You survived the stupid stage. But as divemedic pointed out, hold a dead kid and see how inflexible your arrogant assumptions work. In our neck of the woods in Arkansas, kids on these e-bikes have become a danger. They have something with a lot of power, and not the slightest capability to gauge dangers on an adult level. I recall my childhood, and we were ALL idiots, and when caught, there were consequences, including our parents taking stern measures that readjusted our attitude. The adult stuff was for adults, and with time and learning, we could graduate to that. But other things, no matter the whining of the libertarians, do NOT belong to kids.
Mitchell · October 2, 2026 at 10:00 am
I survived two roll-over car wrecks. One as a child, one as an adult. My 29 year old son died in one. Only God knows all of the stupid things I did as a child and an adult.
Only the living get to talk about the stupid things they did and survived. That doesn’t make them any less stupid.
CE · October 2, 2026 at 10:25 am
The cause of death chart neglected to mention iatrogenic deaths, which according to date published recently by John-Hopkins, was over 250,000 deaths per year caused by error of licensed physicians. I interpret this as meaning, that Doctors are more dangerous than the total sum of all of the causes specified in the list. Evidently, the policery is frivolous.
Divemedic · October 2, 2026 at 1:16 pm
1 Statistics on iatrogenic deaths aren’t currently kept. I agree they should be, but they are not.
2 The Johns Hopkins study that produced that number is an estimate. There is no way of knowing how accurate it is.
3 The table in this post is for children and adolescents, which are a subset of the entire population. The number of iatrogenic deaths will by definition be much smaller than the 250,000 estimated for the entire population of the US, but exactly what that number will be is anyone’s guess.
My personal opinion is that it will be much lower, simply because people under the age of 20 just don’t get sick, therefore don’t have an opportunity to interact with health care workers in situations where they would have a possibility of error.
Rob · October 2, 2026 at 7:38 pm
I agree with your take on this. Kids are riding in the street with zero knowledge of traffic and traffic laws and right of way.
We all had mini bikes, then dirt bikes, and we knew we weren’t allowed on roads. We rode off road, mostly, and knew it was dangerous on the streets. When I got my first street bike I knew how much more dangerous it was than riding in the woods. These e-bike kids, mostly, don’t seem to understand this danger and don’t understand the rules of the road. You can lose your life, or get crippled.
I still ride in my retirement (Yamaha MT09) but I have Plan N Medicare because a wreck could cost me my home in medical expenses, my home that I’ve paid off. I don’t want to wake up in the air ambulance for sure.
I practice panic stopping and maneuvers, even as good as I’ve gotten over the years, it still comes down to 20% or 30% dumb luck. You can only account for what you do, everyone else is on their phones . . . and no one sees you.
Brutus · October 5, 2026 at 12:10 pm
When I was a kid, it seemed that ever year I’d have a classmate in crutches or a cast. When I’d ask how it happened, the answer was nearly always a dirt bike accident. It’s not my place to dictate how others should raise their kids, but I won’t be buying my son a dirt bike.
James · October 8, 2026 at 6:48 pm
Brutus,at least back in me highschool days though only a few of rode dirt bikes none had broken bones,folks on the football team had a lot of injuries including broken bones,same with the ski team,which considering they only had 8 or so members had a lot of injuries,guess they were not a very good ski team!
I guess the football gear etc, has gotten a lot better since the late 70’s/early 80’sd.
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