A 16-year-old Mount Prospect boy died after crashing his e-vehicle into a pickup truck Monday evening in Arlington Heights, just as officials at village hall were debating new regulations on such motorized devices.
The teen, identified by family members as Samuel Alfaro Acevedo, was headed north on Reuter Drive approaching Grove Street just before 7:30 p.m. when his two-wheeled e-vehicle collided with a 2021 Ford F-150 pickup that was headed east on Grove, police said.
A preliminary investigation indicated the teen disobeyed a stop sign at the intersection, authorities said. There was no stop sign for the pickup driver.
Witnesses told investigators they estimated the e-vehicle was traveling 30-40 mph at the time of the crash. The teen was not wearing a helmet.
Alfaro Acevedo was transported to Advocate Lutheran General Medical Center in Park Ridge with traumatic injuries, police said. He was pronounced dead just after 10 p.m.
The driver of the pickup was uninjured and police do not believe the driver was impaired.
The Cook County medical examiner’s office conducted an autopsy Tuesday, but an official cause and manner of death is pending completion of a traffic report.
Acevedo was a student at Rolling Meadows High School, where he played on the soccer team.
“My son Samuel Alfaro had a tragic accident. Samuel was a beloved son, brother, friend and teammate,” his mother, Sandra Acevedo, wrote on a GoFundMe online fundraising page. “Samuel was a proud Mustang Soccer player. His dream was to play soccer in college. We are completely devastated as a family.”
The fundraiser had collected more than $17,000 for funeral and other expenses by Tuesday afternoon.
Rolling Meadows Principal Megan Kelly said counselors, social workers and members of the school’s student services team are available to talk to students.
“Our school is grieving the heartbreaking loss of one of our students,” Kelly wrote in a letter to families. “Samuel’s passing has deeply impacted his classmates, teammates, teachers, and all of us who are part of the Rolling Meadows High School community. We ask that you keep Samuel’s family in your thoughts and hearts at this incredibly difficult time.”
E-bike advocates said the teen’s vehicle was operating too fast to be an e-bike, which by state law is defined in three classes and must have its class identified on a sticker affixed to the device. Instead, they believe it was an e-moto or “out-of-class electric vehicle” that can travel in excess of the 28 mph maximum of an e-bike.
Police said the teen’s vehicle did not have an e-bike sticker on it.
Arlington Heights trustees began their review of local regulations just before 9 p.m. Monday, following an earlier discussion Aug. 11. News of the fatal crash started circulating after the meeting adjourned.
The new rules, approved in an 8-0 vote, bar kids younger than 16 from operating Class 3 e-bikes, which can go 28 mph, or out-of-class electric vehicles that in some cases reach speeds of 60 mph.
The ordinance includes a recklessness provision, allowing police to cite anyone who operates any vehicle “with a conscious disregard for the safety of others and/or the operator.” Such a violation could come with a $250 fine and impoundment of the device.
Requirements for helmets and working lights and brakes are also included in the ordinance.
“This is still the item that I get the most comments and complaints about,” Trustee Robin LaBedz said before the vote. “And really a lot of it is fear. And the fear is from the people driving vehicles who are so worried that they might have an accident, and possibly a tragic accident with somebody, especially a young person, on one of these motorized vehicles.”
Visitation for Acevedo is scheduled from 2 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday at El Verbo de Dios church, 800 N. 18th Ave. in Melrose Park

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