A brother’s crash, a warning about e-bike safety

By Casey Menish, Reston neighbor

Nineteen years after Brian Menish nearly lost his life in a moped wreck in Reston, and despite years of therapy, he is still partially disabled on his right side and has a speech impairment. His sister hopes his story serves as a reminder to the many kids on e-motorcycles today. Photo contributed by Casey Menish

A few weeks ago, I was walking my dog on the path between South Lakes Drive and Lake Thoreau when two kids rushed past me on an e-motorbike. The driver at least had his helmet on, but the kid on the back was wearing sandals. Although the passenger had a helmet on his head, it wasn’t clipped, so it would do him no good in a crash.

Then, just minutes later, another kid passed us without a helmet and wearing Crocs as he sped by on his similar electric vehicle on the path. I have been horrified to see how many teens and children are recklessly zipping around Reston on e-motorbikes this summer. I have good reason to be horrified.

Nineteen years ago, in 2007, my brother Brian nearly lost his life when he crashed his moped. The memories of my brother’s traumatic brain injury come back to me all the time. For a while, it seemed like the popularity of mopeds went away, but the recent trend of e-motorbikes proves that history doesn’t always repeat itself, but it rhymes.

July 7, 2007. I was 16 years old, and my dad knocked on my bedroom door early that Saturday morning to tell me my brother had crashed his moped and was in the hospital. Assuming that Brian had just broken his arm, I groaned, “Ugh, do I have to go?” My dad insisted we had to go immediately, so I rolled out of bed and walked down to the car, fully expecting my brother would have some bruises and scratches. But as soon as I opened the door to the garage, I saw it: Brian’s pristine white helmet. My heart sank as I realized that if Brian’s helmet was in the garage, we were headed for a much more dire situation at the hospital.

The summer of 2007 was supposed to be all fun for the seniors from Herndon High School as they enjoyed their last summer together before heading off to college. Brian went to a party at a friend’s house on July 6, and he made two critical mistakes that would alter the course of his life forever. He chose to ride his moped while intoxicated, and he chose not to wear a helmet.

In the early morning hours of July 7, Brian drove his moped around the winding bends of Shaker Woods Road. He crashed into the guardrail, was thrown off the bike 25 feet into a ravine and fractured his skull. Brian remembers trying to yell for help, but no screams came. He also remembers trying to claw his way out of the ravine but being able to use only his left hand. His left-side brain injury left him there for hours, unable to yell or use the right side of his body, hopeless and alone.

By some miracle, a neighbor couldn’t sleep that night. He was on the road to a 24-hour grocery store around 3 a.m. when he saw Brian’s moped crashed on its side, with the headlights shining into the dark woods. The man heard someone mumbling, trying to yell. He didn’t have a cellphone, so he couldn’t call for help. He didn’t want to leave Brian, but he didn’t want to stay and risk Brian not getting help. A few minutes into his panic, a car full of young men pulled up, called 911 and one of the boys went down the ravine to make sure Brian was not alone. We still don’t know who that was. The crash was so close to our home that my dad remembers hearing the helicopter that rushed Brian to the ICU at Fairfax Hospital.

I remember the doctor telling us very bluntly that Brian had slim chances. My dad tried to clarify: “Slim chances to walk again? Talk again?” And the doctor replied, “Slim chances of living.” After his initial emergency brain surgery, we sat with Brian for hours. He was hooked up to dozens of monitors and lifesaving devices. When my dad stepped away for a moment, the nurse told me it was a good time to tell my brother goodbye while I had a few minutes alone with him.

My mom was traveling in New Mexico at the time, and she dropped everything to fly home. When she arrived just a few hours later, the waiting room at the hospital was full of dozens of seniors from the HHS class of 2007. In small groups, Brian’s friends were allowed to go into the ICU to see him. When his best friend came in, we could see Brian trying to push himself up. The nurse told us not to get our hopes up, that it was likely just the anesthesia wearing off. But I knew at that moment that my stubborn big brother would make it.

Fast-forward to 2026, and my brother Brian is still partially disabled from his traumatic brain injury. He never regained the use of his right arm, he walks with a limp and sometimes his speech is still a little slow. But he taught himself to walk again, how to talk again and, despite his physical disabilities, he has even completed triathlons and taught himself how to paint with his left hand. He earned a college degree, established a successful portfolio of investment properties in California, and he has sole custody of his 6-year-old son, whom he is literally and figuratively raising single-handedly.

July 7, 2007 was the worst day of my family’s life, but I also count it as the luckiest day because Brian survived his moped accident. Not all children or their families are as lucky.

I was happy to see The Reston Letter publish an article about e-bike safety on the front page of the July 2026 issue. Coming from a woman whose family was devastated by a moped crash and who still struggles with the aftermath nearly 20 years later, I have to implore you: If you’re considering getting an e-motorbike for your kid, please think twice. And if your child already has one, please make sure they understand that properly wearing a helmet and appropriate footwear is not negotiable. They need to ride safely and understand the laws and rules of the road, or they could get themselves or someone else killed.