Electric bikes can be fast and dangerous. Here's how to stay safe

SIOUX FALLS, S. D. — The 14-year-old was riding an electric bicycle at an estimated 25 mph when he slammed into Janet Stotko during her evening walk, leaving her unconscious and bleeding on a sidewalk in her Minnesota neighborhood.

The 2024 crash nearly killed Stotko, who was raced to a hospital with severe brain injuries, a facial fracture and broken eardrum.

But after being on a ventilator for two days, spending three weeks in the hospital and enduring brain surgery, she survived, surprising even her doctors.