What happened
A 13-year-old boy riding an electric mini-bike was critically injured Sunday evening, October 25, when he collided with an SUV in the 3000 block of SE 19th Street on Des Moines' southeast side. The SUV's driver was arrested for operating while intoxicated.
Des Moines police and firefighters were called to the crash just after 7 p.m. Police said their preliminary investigation shows the boy was riding south on SE 19th Street when an SUV turned northbound onto SE 19th from Pleasant View Circle, and the two collided. First responders found the 13-year-old critically injured; he was not wearing a helmet. He was taken to UnityPoint Health – Blank Children's Hospital. (WHO13)
Police identified the SUV's driver as 39-year-old Jose Santiago Vasquez Machado. Police said he showed signs of impairment and arrested him for OWI, first offense. He was also charged with operating without a driver's license, and with an additional count after police say he first identified himself as someone else. Police found he had an active arrest warrant from 2024. (WHO13) His bond was set at $5,000. (KDSM) These are charges only, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Police also said the mini-bike had been modified to go far faster than Iowa's e-bike classifications allow, which could require it to be registered as a motor vehicle and ridden by a licensed driver, and that it reportedly had no front or rear lights. (WHO13) Sgt. Paul Parizek said the bike's factory specifications listed 2,600 watts and a top speed of 40 miles per hour. "That's too much for a little kid to be handling," he said. (KDSM)
The Des Moines Police Department Traffic Unit is continuing to investigate.
Our condolences
Somewhere in Des Moines tonight, a mother and father are sitting beside a hospital bed at Blank Children's, waiting on doctors and hoping for good news. To this boy's family: we are so sorry, and we are praying hard for his recovery. Whatever anyone says in the days ahead about bikes and rules and responsibility, he is a 13-year-old child, and right now the only thing that matters is getting him home.
We are grateful, too, for the Des Moines firefighters, police officers and medical staff who got him to care quickly.
Safety context
Families across Iowa are seeing this kind of crash more often. UnityPoint Health reported that its crash-related emergency-room visits involving e-bikes and scooters rose from 16 in 2020 to 79 in 2026 as of mid-June, and that its doctors have treated more than 400 people hurt in these crashes. "These are truly powered vehicles and kids get hurt, kids get badly hurt," UnityPoint trauma surgeon Dr. Rick Sidwell told reporters.
What counts as an e-bike under Iowa law is narrower than many parents realize. Iowa's definition of a low-speed electric bicycle requires working pedals and a motor of less than 750 watts, with assistance that cuts out at 20 or 28 miles per hour depending on the class. Machines sold as "e-motos" or electric mini-bikes often exceed those limits, and police have warned they may then be treated like motor vehicles.
A few things can help:
- Drivers: no impaired driving, ever, and take extra care turning onto residential streets after dark. Children on bikes and scooters can be fast, small and hard to see.
- Parents: check the specifications of any electric bike or mini-bike before a child rides it: wattage, top speed and whether it has pedals. Iowa police say some models are effectively motorcycles.
- Lights and a helmet, every ride. Front and rear lights make a rider visible at dusk, and a properly fitted helmet is the single best protection against head injury.
The rights of families after a crash like this
In general terms, when a child is seriously hurt because a driver was careless or impaired, the child has a claim for medical care, future care, pain and suffering, and the long-term effects of the injury. Under Iowa Code § 613.15A, parents may separately recover for the expense and actual loss of services, companionship, and society resulting from injury to a minor child. Iowa sets a two-year deadline for most personal-injury claims. A minor's own claim gets extra time under Iowa Code § 614.8, but a parent's claim should never be allowed to wait.
As to this crash specifically, and only as possibilities based on what has been reported:
- The impaired-driving charge. Police say the driver showed signs of impairment, and he has been charged with OWI under Iowa Code § 321J.2. If the investigation confirms that he turned into the boy's path while impaired, the family may have a strong claim against him. A criminal case and a civil claim are separate, and a family does not have to wait for one to protect the other.
- Where the alcohol came from. Iowa's Dramshop Act, Iowa Code § 123.92, allows people injured by an intoxicated driver to bring a claim against a licensed bar, restaurant or other seller that served alcohol to that driver while he was visibly intoxicated. Nothing reported says where the driver had been. If he was served by a licensed establishment while visibly intoxicated, that business may also be responsible.
- Insurance. The driver was charged with operating without a valid license, which raises a real question about whether he carried insurance. Iowa requires auto policies to include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage unless the policyholder rejected it in writing. If the driver is uninsured or underinsured, the family's own auto policy may help pay for their child's care.
- The bike. Families should expect the driver's insurer to focus on the mini-bike: its speed, its lack of lights, whether it was legal to ride, and the absence of a helmet. Iowa follows a modified comparative-fault rule under Iowa Code § 668.3. A claim is reduced by any share of fault assigned to the injured person and is barred only if that share is greater than the combined fault of the defendants. How a jury weighs a 13-year-old's choices against an adult driver who was allegedly impaired and unlicensed is a fact question. It needs the full police reconstruction, not a headline.
The criminal charges are allegations only, and the police investigation is ongoing.
Learn more about your rights: you may want to read about claims after a child on a scooter or e-bike is hit by a car, about help for Des Moines families after a serious crash, and about how Iowa's comparative-fault rules affect an injury claim.
How I help families in crisis
When your child is in critical condition, every minute and every bit of energy belongs at that hospital bed, not on the phone with an insurance adjuster. My job is to help families through exactly this kind of crisis. I take the stress from their shoulders, take up the shield to protect and advocate for the rights of their child and their family, and guide them through what can be a long road of recovery.
In a case like this, that means following the police investigation and the criminal case and getting the crash report. It means preserving the SUV's data, any home or business camera footage along SE 19th Street, and witness accounts. It means finding every source of insurance and investigating whether a bar or restaurant served the driver. And it means making sure the questions about the bike are answered with facts, not assumptions.
Over my career I have recovered more than $24 million for injured people and their families, earned countless five-star client reviews and the respect of fellow attorneys, and been recognized as Best of Omaha for personal injury in 2025 and 2026.
Whenever your family is ready, I'm here to listen. The call is free, it doesn't commit you to anything, and I don't take a fee unless I win.
Frequently asked questions
- What happened in the e-bike crash on SE 19th Street in Des Moines?
- Just after 7 p.m. on Sunday, October 25, 2026, a 13-year-old riding an electric mini-bike south on SE 19th Street in Des Moines collided with an SUV that was turning onto SE 19th from Pleasant View Circle, according to police. The boy was critically injured, and the SUV driver was arrested for OWI.
- What are the rights of families after a crash like this?
- A child hurt by a careless or impaired driver can claim medical costs, future care and pain and suffering, and Iowa parents can recover for their own losses. Depending on the investigation, the family may have claims against the driver, a business that over-served him, or their own uninsured motorist coverage. Insurers may raise the bike's speed and lights, which Iowa weighs under comparative fault.
- How does Frank Younes help families after something like this?
- Frank takes the legal burden off the family: following the police investigation and criminal case, preserving video and vehicle data, finding every insurance policy, looking into where the driver was served alcohol, and answering questions about the bike with facts. The first conversation is free, and there is no fee unless he wins.
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