The district partnered on Wednesday morning with Valley Children's Injury Prevention Program to host an e-bike safety conference at Bullard High School, bringing together school officials, law enforcement, and healthcare professionals to educate students and families about safe riding practices.
The goal is to bring awareness about 3-bike and E-scooter risk while educating parents, students and the community.
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Health officials say growing access to e-bikes and scooters has introduced new risks for young riders.
"The increasing use of e-bikes or e-scooters brings new safety challenges we cannot ignore," said Dr. Carmela Sosa, medical director of the Guilds Center at Valley Children's Healthcare.
As the availability and use of e-bikes and scooters have risen, so have the injuries.
Since Friday in Fresno, a 13-year-old boy has died and two other children have been significantly injured in two separate crashes involving motorized vehicles.
While it wasn't an e-bike in at least one of those cases, the concern about the same type of injury remains.
Valley Children's Injury Prevention Program, a lead agency for Safe Kids Central California, says injuries linked to e-bikes and scooters have climbed sharply in recent years.
"In 2023, we saw only 11 injuries total. The number of combined e-bike and e-scooter injuries rose to 41 in 2025. Specifically related to e-bike injuries, we saw 22 e-bike traumas in 2025 as a whole, and we've already almost surpassed that number in the first four months of this year," Sosa said.
In response, Fresno police, the California Highway Patrol and Fresno Unified officials gathered at Bullard High School to emphasize helmet use and adherence to traffic laws.
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Officials stressed that wearing a helmet remains the most effective way to prevent head injuries in a bicycle crash.
"Of those presenting to our emergency department, only one in four riders was wearing a helmet. The significance of this is that non-helmet riders have an almost two times higher risk of head injury compared to those wearing helmets," Sosa said.
By law, all bicyclists under age 18 must wear a helmet while riding on public roads, paths or sidewalks. Officers also reminded riders to follow traffic rules, including riding on the right side of the road.
"Riding against traffic, like I said, that's one of the common things we see here. You will be cited for that," a Fresno police officer said.
Officials also issued a broader call for community involvement in keeping students safe.
"Drivers, please slow down, stay alert and follow traffic laws, especially in school zones. As a community, we need to communicate and prioritize safe routes to and from school and especially around town," Sosa said.
Bullard High School Principal Armen Torigian said the message is about balancing enjoyment with responsibility.
"As a school community, we want every student to enjoy riding a bike, but we also want every student to be able to come to school and go home safely," Torigian said.
The event served as both a reminder of the risks associated with e-bikes and scooters and a push for families, schools and drivers to work together to prevent further crashes.
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