Overview
- The Orange County District Attorney filed the felony count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence on July 17, 2026, and Brandon Scott Soleau is due to be arraigned July 23 in Westminster with Senior Deputy DA Alyssa Staudinger prosecuting.
- Prosecutors allege that on Aug. 2, 2025 Soleau allowed 20-year-old Kolby Kekoa Aipa to grab onto his 2015 Toyota Tacoma while Aipa rode an e‑bike, then merged onto southbound Pacific Coast Highway at about 50 mph as a passenger filmed the tow.
- After more than a mile near Seapoint Street Aipa lost control, fell, and died three days later from blunt head trauma; prosecutors note he was not wearing a helmet.
- The charge cites California Vehicle Code prohibitions on attaching bicycles or e‑bikes to vehicles and carries a maximum state-prison term of six years if Soleau is convicted.
- Aipa was a rising figure in the surf community and was posthumously honored last year, and the prosecution could prompt closer scrutiny of dangerous roadside behavior with potential legal consequences for drivers and passengers who enable it.