Two teenagers die after ebike crash with motorbike south of Brisbane

Teenage boy and girl riding ebike, which police say was not displaying lights, were declared dead at scene in Greenbank on Thursday night

An ebike involved in a fatal crash near Brisbane, in which two teenagers were killed, was “not displaying lights” when it collided with a motorbike on Thursday night, Queensland police say.

The two teenagers – a boy and girl, aged 16 and 15 – were killed while riding along the poorly-lit stretch of Middle Road at Greenbank, in the Logan area south of Brisbane.

Investigators say they believe the Harley-Davidson motorcycle was attempting to overtake a vehicle and collided with the ebike, which was travelling in the opposite direction, about 9pm.

The teenagers were declared dead at the scene. The motorcycle rider was taken to the Princess Alexandra hospital in a serious, but stable, condition.

Speaking on Friday, police Ch Supt Mark Wheeler, the head of road policing in Queensland, said he could not say whether the ebike was “off the shelf”, whether it was modified, or whether it complied with safety regulations.

Queensland is proposing a ban on under 16s operating ebikes after 14 deaths linked to ebikes and escooters last year. The proposal has not yet been legislated.

Wheeler said specialist crash investigators would look at “all aspects” of the situation, including the mechanics of both vehicles, to establish whether they were compliant, and whether all parties involved were wearing appropriate safety equipment.

“The ebike was not displaying lights, so there was no illumination coming from the ebike,” Wheeler said.

“The way it’s been described to me, the Harley-Davidson motorcycle was engaged in an overtaking manoevre.

“In any investigation we want to understand: how did this happen? Two young lives have been lost. And part of that is about the visibility of that vehicle and the two young people on it.”

Police have asked members of the public with any footage to come forward.

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The crash came after a Queensland parliamentary inquiry recommended a ban on children under 16 riding compliant ebikes and e-scooters.

The report noted Queensland Health reported more than 6,300 e-mobility related emergency department presentations in the year to March 2025 – a figure thought to underestimate the true number of incidents.

More than 200 cases involved major trauma and more than 60 required intensive care, mainly for head and facial injuries, it said.

Under proposed rules, riders would be limited to a maximum of 10km/h on footpaths and have to hold at least a learner’s licence, with the exception of wheelchair and other accessibility device users.

Any device with a top speed above 25km/h would be defined as a motorbike, moped or other appropriate classification.

They could only be ridden on roads, and would have to be registered and covered by compulsory third-party insurance.

The Queensland transport minister, Brent Mickelberg, said earlier in March that the Crisafulli government would not bury its head in the sand over the need to reform regulations.

“There are clearly changes needed when it comes to e-scooters,” he said.

“We’ve received robust, comprehensive, and practical recommendations to deliver reform.

“Some of these recommendations may mean making tough decisions, but we need to make those decisions to keep Queenslanders safe.”

A University of Melbourne study found one in three Australian e-scooter deaths reported in the media from the start of 2020 to mid-2025 were children.