Neighbors not surprised ‘reckless’ teens allegedly caused Santa Clarita deputy crash

Two teenagers are in custody in connection with a motorcycle crash in Santa Clarita that injured a sheriff's deputy Thursday night. Officials allege the teens intentionally triggered the collision. It happened around 6:30 p.m. Thursday near Avenida Rancho Tesoro and Duke Drive in the Tesoro Village neighborhood. Police said one of the two teens, estimated to be between 15 and 19 years old, intentionally veered their dirt bike into a Santa Clarita sheriff's deputy, causing him to crash into a light pole. Witnesses reportedly said it happened when the officer tried to pull the teen over. The deputy was taken to the hospital, and the teens fled the scene. Hours later, police announced the two had been found and arrested. KTLA spoke to several neighbors in the community on Friday morning who said they are not at all surprised by the teens' actions. They said there's a known group of teenagers who often drive recklessly on their e-bikes and dirt bikes up and down the roads. Neighbors said it was only a matter of time before someone was injured. "Next door to me, we have renters, a single dad, just lets their kids, their daughter, ride the e-bike and have all the friends hang out there," said neighbor Eric Kerensky. "And they're just totally obnoxious. You tell them to stop, my wife has almost been hit a couple times on the bike. They have no respect for the parent or any adult." He continued, "So it's becoming a problem, and you're just going to see more of this stuff happening, and it's going to get worse." Police have not released any updates about the deputy, who they are or the extent of their injuries. The teens could face multiple charges, including assault on a peace officer. The charges might also be enhanced since the officer was injured. "We have seen a proliferation in crimes related to teenagers and e-bikes and dirt bikes," said Ryan Kerns, a criminal defense attorney with the Law Offices of Alison Triessl. Kearns said crimes like this have become a priority for many Southern California district attorney offices. "This one is particularly egregious because it involves injuries to a police officer. And if there is, if it’s more than just negligence or an accident and there’s an intent to harm a police officer, it's going to be treated very seriously."