I am sitting with Kaye and Jon in the living room of their home in Pacific Palisades in August of 2022, and I can hear the bemused and reverential love in their voices as they tell stories of their daughter. Perhaps because Im an experienced bike rider, I felt a great deal of concern about the situation, knowing that I live in a community with steep hills and busy streets and worrying about my kids being suddenly confronted with a braking failure. twitter ). Molly Steinsapir was admitted to the hospital immediately and had been undergoing treatment for her injuries at UCLA. Rads stance has always been that its ebikes should not be operated by anyone under the age of 16 (some previous models were at least 18 years old), and the appropriate age warnings have always appeared in all of the owners manuals, a company rep stated. A system error has occurred. He was thinking maybe she had a broken leg or something. To see him with breathing tubes was terrifying, she says. I see hundreds of kids using these bikes, says Bontrager, who lives in the Bay Area. Roughly a month after my younger son got his RadRunner, he mentioned that the brakes werent working so well. No lawsuit will bring Molly back. The complaint alleges that Rad Power Bikes has been negligent in failing to do more to discourage children from using its productsasserting, in fact, that the company has tacitly marketed to young people and their parents. She has to go down a steep hill on a dirt trail every day to ride to school, Redford says. All About Molly McNearney, Who Is Adam Scott's Wife? For Jon and Kaye Steinsapir, Mollys parents, the grief of losing their eldest child is too large to properly express. My heart is broken for them, says attorney Wilborn. And in the end, the Steinsapirs assert, the objective of the initial complaint is not to definitively answer the question of exactly what went wrong with the bike; that will happen in the discovery phase, into which the case has now proceeded. She was so cautious in everything, Kaye says, her voice trailing off before she can finish the sentence. Its terrible what happened, says Joshua Hon, founder of Tern bicycles, a longtime leader in the higher-end e-bike market. Join in prayer for: Molly Steinsapir and her family! In the lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Monday, Kaye and Jonathan Steinsapir claim that design defects in the bikes make it difficult for riders to slow down and stop as the bike gains speed while going downhill, the outlet reported. A DTC brand can source whatever brakes it wants or put any fork it can find to meet a target price point, even on a heavy cargo bike. Molly had a sleepover the night before her fateful crash. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. In the ensuing crash, the handlebar hit him in the groin area. Two and half hours later they came back and said Molly needed immediate surgery, and in the middle of that procedure, the surgeon called Jon and Kayeshe says the doctor seemed rattledto get permission to do a more aggressive procedure. They thought hard about what Molly would wantto help other peopleand signed the paperwork. These bikes give teens and preteens who are too young to drive enormous freedom and range, and also free their parents from the need to chauffeur them around town. An 11-year-old named Eme Green was piloting the e-bike, and her friend Molly Steinsapir, 12, was nestled behind her on a cushioned seat intended for a second passenger. My worst fear is that something bad happens when a customer uses the product., Josh Hon of Tern has that fear too. Its sort of the Wild West, he says, itemizing how a few rules codified by the federal government havent changed since they were created two decades ago. They exponentially expand the number of people who can get around on a bicycle. I went out to the garage and discovered that I could easily squeeze both brake levers all the way to the handlebar gripsmeaning the brakes werent working at all. Represented the Estate of Michael Jackson in a jury trial defending claims by producer Quincy Jones that the Estate had underpaid royalties to Jones after Jacksons tragic dying in 2009. Molly had been admitted to UCLA, and her mother, Kaye, updated her about her situation on Twitter. That settlement was challenged by Rad Power, which filed a cross-complaint against the Greens, alleging that they should be required to compensate the bike brand for a portion of any liability losses it might incur. All of her classes were on Zoom. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. When asked to summarize the overall level of regulation in the e-bike market, Pizzi chuckles. Molly Steinsapir with her writer, lawyer, and cancer survivor mother, Kaye Steinsapir( Source : Molly Steinsapir, the daughter of Michael Jackson estate lawyer Jon Steinsapir, was in a terrible bike accident Jan. 31 and was being treated at UCLA in No one has thought through the consequences of young kids essentially driving heavy, difficult-to-control, throttle-powered e-bikes. Governor Rick Scoot appointed her on December 2012, replacing retired judge David. But I would ask Rad, What do you think about how kids are using your product, and what are you doing to address that?. But economic incentives do not always align, and [t]his is what government is there for, he says. The accident took place two weeks ago on January 31. But then they turned that e-bike downhill and a terror unfolded. Now they know it was preventable. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. We are immensely blessed to be her parents," Kaye wrote on Monday. That was odd because the Greens lived only five or six houses up the street. Some are philosophical questions that youll have to ponder yourself; some are legal questions that lawyers will argue and possibly a jury will have to deliberate; and some are questions that only legislative or regulatory bodies can address. So of course, this is an intensely personal story. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Molly Olivia Steinsapir I found on Findagrave.com. According to Good Morning America, the Steinsapirs claim the bike "began to shake and wobble" while going downhill, which caused the crash. Try again later. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. Doctors initially thought Molly would be You can go to a trade show in China. They said something wasnt right and that they needed to run some tests right away. Kaye initially shared Molly's story the day of the accident, which occurred while her daughter was riding downhill while wearing a helmet, she said. Then they got to the scene and saw Molly lying face down in the street, her turquoise helmet still strapped to her chin. Molly, who was wearing a bike helmet, hit the pavement hard and lost consciousness. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. Enchanted Way lies in Pacific Palisades, an affluent neighborhood on L.A.s Westside that borders Malibu, Santa Monica, Brentwood, and the Pacific Ocean. Are you sure that you want to delete this flower? After spending more than an hour with me celebrating the life of their daughter, Jon and Kaye Steinsapir are ready to talk about the day Molly crashed. Absolutely anyone with a couple hundred thousand can start an e-bike company. This story will raise questions that dont lend themselves to straightforward answers. (Trail is a technical term that represents the horizontal distance from where a bikes front wheel touches the ground to where the steering axis intersects the ground, a factor that influences the handling of a bike.) You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. She was fearless in the ocean, Kaye says. The outpouring of support outweighs the bad apples.". For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. But its also a contentious legal story. One can imagine or at least hope that the girls felt some awe and delight up there, marveling at the expanse of earth and ocean and blue sky before them. No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. The front wheel rolled off into the woods as he continued along the trail. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Molly had been wearing a helmet, Steinsapir said, and was bicycling with a friend near the familys home in Los Angeles. You can buy a tire in China for a dollar, or you can buy one for 10 dollars. Hon then opines, and the parts that are one, two, three dollars theyre not designed for regular usage, let alone usage on a heavy e-bike.. My neighbor, Ezra Holland, related a story from a recent drive near home. Additionally, Jonathan included the cooperation that shared inappropriate marketing for their e-bike business and proclaimed the company failed to provide the danger of using e-bikes. But while countries in the European market have more robust standard requirements for e-bikes (and some countries, such as Germany, are pursuing even stricter regulations on certain types of e-bikes), the U.S. market is virtually without differentiated standards for e-bikes versus nonelectric bikes. Her lungs went to a woman who was battling pulmonary diseaseand she wrote the family a beautiful note about how it changed her life. The entire Rad Power Bikes team extends its deepest condolences to the Steinsapir family on the tragic loss of Molly Steinsapir. She landed on her back and hit a drainpipe and wound up with her back fractured in three places, a broken rib, a bad case of PTSD, and almost $40,000 in medical bills (before insurance). I live in a suburban beach community in Los Angeles County, and in the past few years, DTC (direct-to-consumer) e-bikes like those made by Rad Power have become a de facto mode of transportation for kids between the ages of 11 and 16. A friend she'd been riding with was able to flag down a car and ask the driver to call for help. Braking failures could be caused by an owners failure to replace pads or adjust cables when needed. The accident caused due to the nonfunction e-bike, so her parents aresuingthe e-bike company Red Power Bikes. With the bike picking up speed and the brakes inoperable, Redford tried to intentionally crash into a grassy plot backed by a fence. With a poorly regulated e-bike industry, who is responsible when a child dies? Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request? After my first meeting with Kaye and Jon at their home in August, I decide to retrace the route of Molly and Emes final ride. Kaye also says that when Molly was in a play, she would memorize every characters lines. (LOS ANGELES) The parents of a 12-year-old California girl who died last year after an accident involving an electric bike, or e-bike, say they want to see change. Its not someplace youd want two kids to be sitting on a 65-pound e-bike. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. From the vantage point of the cul-de-sac up top, its easy to see all the questions about this case without really seeing any of the answers in sharp focus. Kaye and Jonathan Steinsapir, the parents of Molly Steinsapir, have filed a lawsuit against Rad Power Bikes, a Seattle-based e-bike company. Regulation and rules and certification standards make a difference, says Hon. You can buy a quick release for 50 cents or spend $50 on thru axles. Im right here, youre okay, I got you.. Molly had been riding down a hill with a helmet on when the accident happened. Even she asked to do something good for someone who needs it. You may request to transfer up to 250,000 memorials managed by Find a Grave. Molly, who was wearing a helmet, sustained severe head injuries. On August 4, Molly's mother shared about another sleepless night. But a couple of weeks later, I saw my son dragging his sneakers on the ground to help stop the bike and found that the brakes were once again useless. She replied that if at some point the girls wanted to ride Emes sisters new electric bike (it was a bat mitzvah gift), they were welcome to walk over and use it. In 2021, the incident occurred when she underwent treatment at the hospital on January 31, 2021. ", Posting the interview to Twitter, Kaye thanked the outlet for sharing their story. Kaye let the girls make a giant mess in the kitchen as Molly showed her pal how to bake her Aunt Pollys chocolate chip cookies from scratch. Ariana Jalia is already a multi-award-winning worldwide film director, actor, and singer-songwriter. The DTC brands like to say, we take out the middleman so its cheaper, but as we in the bike industry know, you can take out some cost by cutting out the dealer and service, but the reality is that a lot of the price reduction comes from cutting corners on component quality, he says. "My cousin told me that Mark Hamill liked one of my Tweets," Kaye wrote in response. "We are aware of the lawsuit that the family has filed. Thus began a year of education, vigilance, maintenance, and communication with Rad. Sorry! It's stressful and forces them back to the darkest place and the circumstances of Molly's death. It felt like everything was tightened properly. In any case, as he was riding on the path, he went down a dip, and maybe 15 seconds later the front of the bike plunged to the ground as the fork scraped on the pavement. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? I make a point of inspecting and adjusting my kids brakes every two or three weeks. There has to be user responsibility, too. They followed the emergency vehicles, winding up increasingly steep hills toward the top of Enchanted Way. Then Enchanted Way pitches skyward and my mood gets heavy. Drag images here or select from your computer for Molly Olivia Steinsapir memorial. In a letter to customers on January 24, 2023, the new CEO, Phil Molyneux, said: As a young company, we recognize that we have made mistakes. She had to undergo blood transfusions and surgeries to Nonetheless, she endured the mishap but had several injuries. #TEAMMOLLY #MakingADifferenceEveryDay. I just couldnt, he says. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. But, based on the number of kids riding the bikes, the company probably knew they were getting into risky territory. In addition to updates on Molly's condition, Kaye also helped her followers get to know the tween better, sharing facts like how she was an animal-loving vegetarian with a keen interest in government and politics who hoped to one day be an actress or politician. So, It doesn't feel fair. So however dubious a brands spec might seem, a company is most likely violating no consumer product safety regulations with its choices. Fans suspected Bianca of cheating on Tate when they were together. Then I started talking to my neighbors. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. And along the way, the questions pushed into the public eye through cases like the one the Steinsapirs are mounting could present a reckoning for the unregulated growth of e-bikes. Her kidneys got a woman off dialysis. Rad Power Bikes ebike is not to be operated by anyone under the age of 16. Both Kaye and her husband are prominent lawyers in Los Angeles, with Jon having worked with the estate of Michael Jackson, according to the New York Daily News. They take comfort knowing that Molly's twelve years may be living with love and joy. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. In a separate but related legal matter, the Steinsapirs entered into a settlement agreement in March 2022 with Emes family, the Greens, for $1.5 million. Despite a series of increasingly desperate surgeries to address her head injuries, Molly would be pronounced dead a little more than two weeks later. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Molly Steinsapir (223005544)? We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. The tweets chronicled the ups and downs of Molly's care, including MRIs, blood transfusions and multiple surgeries to relieve pressure in her brain. I shared the complaint with experienced product designers and executives in the e-bike and bicycle business, as well as attorneys with experience in bicycle liability cases. While our hearts are broken in a way that feels like they can never be mended, we take comfort knowing that Molly's twelve years were filled with love and joy. Darlington is out of the woods now, but his grandmother, Jane, says he couldnt run or play contact sports for six months. On February 16, 2021, Kaye pinned, 'Molly has been called home to God. Tragically, she would never wake up. He had to take a 90-minute ambulance ride and then a Life Flight helicopter to a hospital in Eugene where he underwent surgery to relieve pressure beneath his cracked skull. The families live about a half mile from Enchanted Way. First, the complaint alleges, the bike had an unusually low trail that would make it unstable at high speed. And so, when Molly was allowed to have her best friend, Eme, over for the night, it was a very big deal. ", "Rad Power Bikes had been made aware of this issue and they never redesigned their bike," Jonathan said in an interview with GMA. In other words, potential issues with the mechanical disc brakes or with the quick-release mechanism on the bike. Molly Steinsapir died Monday from injuries sustained in the January 31 accident when she was riding her bike downhill while wearing a helmet. Please reset your password. The failure to warn is really significant in a situation like this, says Kaye, who says she didnt even really know what an e-bike was at the time and that shed frequently seen other kids even younger using similar bikes in the same manner. Family members linked to this person will appear here. Kaye, an articulate storyteller, has taken her heartbreak to social media, picking up more than 120,000 Twitter followers along the way. And in the absence of such regulation, do the companies that make and market e-bikesparticularly the companies that sell relatively inexpensive e-bikes directly to the customerhave an ethical or legal obligation to do more? The complaint notes that the owners manual for the model Molly was on states that the RadRunner is designed for use by persons 18 years old and older, but that this caution occurs in small print on page 49 of a 57-page manual. The complaint also alleges that the companys website is full of glowing reviews from adults who have written about buying Rad e-bikes for their children, quoting a number of reviews from people talking about children younger than Molly having fun riding Rad e-bikes. The accident occurred while Molly and her friend Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. Because the consumer, especially with a new product, doesnt understand the potential risks., At Tern, all e-bikes under development are tested rigorously by a third-party laboratory to meet or exceed stricter European Union standards for the bikes battery system and carrying capacityeven if the bike is destined for U.S. consumers. Thankfully, she is daily receiving excellent treatment from some of the very best physicians in the country at UCLA. Molly Steinsapir, 12, died after suffering a traumatic brain injury from a bike accident, even though she was wearing a helmet. Rad Power Bikes' RadRunner model is capable of reaching It was a place where she was very free and not scared. The room is quiet for a moment after that. When they got to the hospital, Kaye watched as a huge team descended on Molly30 people in white coats with masks and shields. I started a thread on Nextdoor with a summary of the problem and how to address it, and soon I was DMing with parents who wanted tips on barrel and caliper adjustments. Her mother Est Tristan Tate was dating Romanian TV presenter and journalist Bianca Dragusanu in 2018. As Mollys parents would later allege in a lawsuit, Eme could not stop the RadRunner, and the two girls crashed at high speed near the bottom of the steepest stretch of Enchanted Way. The little girl's This account has been disabled. Please implore with everything in your soul for a miracle. It was really hard to leave her there on life support, says Kaye. Grandma donated to Save the Children Nederland in loving memory of Molly Steinsapir( Source : Molly Steinsapir, the 12-year-old daughter of two high-class lawyers, has died after her mom chronicled her traumatic brain injury and her He was staying with his grandparents near Coos Bay, Oregon, and hit the ground when the front wheel of one of their RadRunners came off on a quiet paved road. Nobody at home or in her preschool suggested or encouraged the decision. The claim continued, saying, "Rad knew or should have known that this was an unsafe and defective design. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Add to your scrapbook. The complaints description of the quick release loosening due to interaction with the disc brake use is novel, and probably wrongI cant think of how that would happen in normal use, says legendary bike engineer Keith Bontrager, who read the document. I bought and installed Kevlar pads, which are more durable, and I also brought the bikes into a few shops to see if their mechanics could address the issue better than I could. The lawsuit alleges that their daughter Molly Steinsapirs death was caused by the Rad Power bike she was riding with a friend and the Giro helmet she was wearing on January 21 of 2021 on a large hill on the street Enchanted Way in the Pacific Palisades. The end user [for Rad] is an affluent teenager who might not have a ton of riding experience, says Hong Quan, founder of the e-bike brand Karmic. A quick-release failure could be caused by someone putting on a wheel improperly. How she challenged Jons use of male pronouns to talk about God, and how when he held his ground, the kid called his mother to lobby the issue. "Thank you, @GMA. Even Kaye replied to the comment about knowing she was watching over us and smiling at her two little brothers, Nate and Eli, her cat Leroy and her dog Calvin. They said to keep driving uphill. How E-Bikes Got These Riders Back in the Saddle, Americas Most Dangerous Road for Cyclists, A Driver Killed a Teen Cyclist Without Consequence, E-Bike Maintenance: Everything You Need to Know, Self-Driving Cars Wont Save Us Anytime Soon, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. From an industry association perspective, so many units are sold into the market beyond the scope of our constituentsit will have a negative impact. When I'm sitting here in this sterile room hour after hour, your messages of hope make me feel less alone," Kaye wrote on Feb. 4. In the morning the girls made another mess baking cinnamon rolls, and then sat in matching pajamas watching The Little Mermaid. Then they wheeled her away and left Kaye standing alone in the hallway. Second, the complaint asserts that Rads decision to outfit (or spec, in industry parlance) the RadRunner with a combination of disc brakes and quick-release axles is a known safety hazard that can cause wheels to wobble or even fall off during hard braking. (At Mollys memorial service, Jon admitted that in the weeks of intense prayer that preceded his daughters death, he finally altered this practice, citing former Supreme Court Justice Felix FrankfurterWisdom too often never comes, and so one ought not to reject it merely because it comes late.). Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Im very happy buying a shirt or a pair of socks online and having it delivered to my door. But those things dont need service., Hon also feels that brands need to do more to spec their bikes with safety in mind. Try again later. I found that hilarious.. Except the ocean, Jon continues. The girl's mom shared her daughter's battle to recover at UCLA on Twitter The complaints I heard fell into two categoriespeople who say they suddenly lost braking power and crashed, and people who say their front wheel came off the bike as they were riding it. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. But he alone knows a half dozen friends and neighbors struggling with the same problems. Its a race to the bottom. Molly and Eme were friends and neighbors, and both lived about a half mile downhill from this dramatic perch. On a clear day you can see all the way to Catalina Island, 45 miles to the south, from the cul-de-sac at the top. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. They both thought it was oddthe landline rang so infrequently, and most of the incoming calls were solicitors or random callers.
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