13-Year-Old E-Biker Killed By Train

A 13-year-old Simi Valley boy, Reis Beck, was killed Saturday, April 25, after an Amtrak train struck his e-bike at a railroad crossing. (ktla.com) (nbclosangeles.com) Simi Valley police said the crash happened around 6:25 p.m. at Sequoia Avenue and Los Angeles Avenue. Beck was riding south on the east sidewalk on what police described as a two-wheeled motorized device. (nbclosangeles.com) (cbsnews.com) Police said preliminary findings indicate he failed to stop in time at the crossing and was hit by a passing Amtrak train. Ventura County Fire Department crews responded, and video from the scene showed rescuers performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation. (nbclosangeles.com) (ktla.com) The death quickly rippled through Simi Valley because Beck was a student at Sinaloa Middle School and played in the Simi Valley Youth Baseball League. The league called him "an amazing kid" in a memorial post. (ktla.com) (msn.com) A memorial was set up at the middle school as classmates and friends left notes and flowers. Family and community tributes described Beck as energetic, kind and devoted to sports. (aol.com) (yahoo.com) The investigation is still open, and Simi Valley police asked anyone with information to contact traffic investigators. Early police accounts have focused on the rider's approach to the crossing, not on a train equipment failure. (nbclosangeles.com) (ktla.com) The crash also landed in a wider Southern California debate over fast, youth-ridden e-bikes after a run of serious and fatal collisions. Local cycling coverage said Beck's death was Ventura County's fourth bicycling death of 2026 by late April. (bikinginla.com) (nbclosangeles.com) For now, the case has left one crossing, one team and one middle school at the center of the grief. Beck's death is being investigated as the community prepares services and tributes in his name. (ktla.com) (aol.com)