E-bikes are on track to become the most common cause of child trauma cases at Rady Children's Hospital this year, trauma medical director Romeo Ignacio told Axios.

Why it matters: As e-bikes have become a popular ride for San Diego kids in recent years, crashes, injuries and ER visits have also spiked.

By the numbers: Rady Children's saw three pediatric trauma patients tied to e-bikes in 2021. That jumped to 262 kids last year.

• There were nearly 90 e-bike-related cases in the first quarter of 2026, which suggests e-bike injuries are poised to become the most common injury among trauma cases this year, Ignacio said.
• Most of these patients are 12-16 years old, but some are as young as four or five, he said.
• The hospital sees about 900-1,000 trauma patients annually, and more than 25% of such cases are now related to e-bikes.

Zoom in: Many kids are coming into the ER with arm, leg, face, pelvic bone and spinal fractures, Ignacio said.

• They also frequently see severe head injuries, including skull fractures, as well as brain bruises and bleeding, which can have "lifelong, altering consequences," he said.

"These injuries are similar to what we see with motorcycles or low-speed motor vehicle collisions," Ignacio said. "It's just the speed of these bikes is much faster than conventional bikes."

Between the lines: Pedal-assist e-bikes can get up to 20-28mph depending on the type, and some have throttles that allow riders to accelerate up to 20mph without pedaling.

• At 20mph, "colliding into a car that doesn't see them because they're going much faster than expected has dire consequences," Ignacio said.
• He noted he's not anti-e-bike and sees the benefits as a healthy outdoor activity or a way to get to school, but said California and local cities need better regulation, infrastructure and education to make them safer for kids.

State of play: Several cities across San Diego County are cracking down on e-bikes by limiting their use for kids under 12 and restricting the number of passengers.

• State law already bans kids under 16 from riding e-bikes that go up to 28mph.

Tell us: Has your child been injured on an e-bike? What concerns do you have as a parent? What are the benefits for kids to ride e-bikes? What restrictions or regulations do you want to see? Hit reply to share your story.

Pro tips on safety

San Diego's spiciest City Council election this year is definitely District 2, where an open seat is attracting lots of candidates.

The big picture: District 2 covers Clairemont, Point Loma, Mission Beach, Ocean Beach and the Midway District. The top two vote-getters on June 2 will advance to the November election.

• We grilled the candidates on your questions. Former Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey did not respond to our questions.

Q: How will you reduce utility costs?

Trial attorney Paul Suppa would:

• ⚖️ Demand transparency and oppose unjustified rate increases, drawing on his experience suing PG&E on behalf of Camp Fire victims.

Community activist Mandy Havlik would:

• 🤝 Build a regional coalition across Southern California to pressure SDG&E to renegotiate transmission costs.
• 🔍 Push for stronger oversight of infrastructure programs like burying power lines, so costs aren't passed to ratepayers.

Deputy city attorney Nicole Crosby would:

• 📋 Launch a five-year evaluation process using audits and performance metrics to strengthen the city's negotiating position.
• 🏙️ Investigate the feasibility of a municipally owned utility to introduce competition while preserving union jobs.

Former Chief of Staff at Downtown San Diego Partnership Josh Coyne would:

• 🤝 Push for the best possible deal in future franchise fee negotiations, prioritizing lower costs for residents and small businesses.
• ☀️ Expand community power options and local clean energy generation to give residents more control.

What they said about housing

🕌 The Islamic Center of San Diego got $1 million in state grants in the last five years to boost security.

• That program is now facing a $36 million cut. (Times of San Diego)

🏗️ Taller apartments near our transit stops will be easier to build starting in July.

• Senate Bill 79 will let developers build denser, higher housing near rail and rapid bus lines, even overriding some local zoning rules. (Times of San Diego)

🌦️ Real-time weather tracking just got way easier. The National Weather Service rolled out a cleaner public dashboard with live radar, rainfall totals, wind speeds and wildfire conditions all in one place. (Union-Tribune)

🍔 Queenstown heads to Del Mar with a new coastal outpost opening today.

• The restaurant group leaned into its New Zealand-inspired comfort food-and-cocktails formula after years of crowds in Little Italy and UTC. (UT)

The 15 North tomorrow at 5:45 pm will be the absolute worst place in the city, according to AAA.

Why it matters: AAA predicts this will be the busiest Memorial Day ever for travel — meaning your departure time could make or break your trip.

Zoom in: Sunday is a good driving day, per INRIX, a transportation data analytics company that works with AAA to calculate travel times.

• AAA anticipates that more than 45 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more over Memorial Day weekend. That's 200,000 more than last year.

More traffic intel

When you hear what local students did at last month's California Science & Engineering State Fair, you'll either feel extremely hopeful or extremely dumb. Or maybe both.

Six middle schoolers from San Diego won top prizes in the Junior Innovators Challenge.

• Sydney O'Donnell told Axios she took inspiration from her 35 chickens at home for her project, which involved supplementing chicken eggs with lutein (a natural pigment similar to beta-carotene) to maintain eye health.

Rishabh Bhatia said he used vision prediction software to study where our eyes go when watching videos for his project, "Improving Human Visual Attention Prediction Using Deep Learning and Webcam Eye Tracking."

The bottom line: Talking to these students makes you feel like maybe we're not totally doomed after all.

More science