May 07, 2026
Thom Carroll/For PhillyVoice
Marple Township Police are seeking public assistance in identifying a group of young e-bike riders that damaged athletic fields at Cardinal O'Hara High School and injured a pedestrian on Tuesday.
A group of young e-bike riders is being sought by Marple Township police for damaging athletic fields and injuring a pedestrian near Cardinal O'Hara High School on Tuesday.
Police are seeking public assistance in identifying the riders, and are considering ways to hold their parents accountable, said Brandon Graeff, Marple Township's chief of police. He said this group, estimated to include about 10 riders, has been a "nuisance" to other areas in Delaware County, too.
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"It's like 'Lord of the Flies' out there, but with e-bikes," Graeff said. "... It was beginning to become a problem at the end of the summer last year, and I sense it's going to be a lot worse this year.
"I'm just so disgusted with these parents," he added. "If we can somehow hold parents accountable, even in charging … that's a discussion I want to have."
The e-bike riders were seen operating in a "reckless and unsafe manner" near South Sproul Road at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Graeff said. The riders damaged the baseball and softball fields at Cardinal O'Hara by biking over them.
A man who attempted to stop the e-bike riders was struck by one of them and suffered a minor abrasion to his leg, Graeff said. He did not require treatment or hospitalization.
About one hour later, the same group was spotted "generally wreaking havoc" in a nearby Wawa parking lot at 2050 S. Sproul Road, police said. Officers attempted to intervene, but the e-bike riders fled down South Sproul Road, with some riding up to 45 mph. Police said they stopped pursuing the riders due to safety considerations.
The Marple Township Police Department posted a photo from an officer's body camera on Instagram that shows two of the riders. Graeff said the rider on the right has been identified as a 15-year-old boy from Ridley Park, but as of Thursday morning, no other riders had been identified.
Injuries from e-bikes — including head trauma — have surged as the popularity of e-bikes has risen, research shows. More than 20,000 people are injured in e-bike crashes each year, with 3,000 of them requiring hospitalization, the American College of Surgeons warned last year.
Anyone with information about the e-bike riders can contact the Marple Township Police Department at (610) 356-1500, (610) 356-6098 or email lead investigator Greg deSimone.
