A Kalani High School freshman was involved in a collision while riding his electric bike to school on Monday morning, Aug. 18. The incident occurred at the intersection of the Aina Haina Shopping Center.

Despite the arrival of emergency vehicles, the student was okay.

The accident was reported over school walkie-talkies, alerting campus staff to an accident involving a student on his morning commute. According to the Honolulu Police Department officer on the scene, the student was did not go to the hospital.

Mary Erickson-Nartatez, Kalani’s school nurse, heard about the accident on her school walkie. 

“It was interesting because they said he was gonna be late to school, and I thought he must be okay,” she explains.

The student, whose identity is being withheld to protect his privacy, later confirmed he was uninjured. However, the accident has brought up local debate about the safety of electric bikes.

“In all honesty, I think [electric bikes] are super dangerous,” Ercikson-Nartalez says. “I think they’re way too fast. Bicycles as a whole can be dangerous because people just don’t respect them.”