I just read up on the one with the two girls going down the hill:
The hill is VERY steep, and with two big kids on that bike, maybe the brakes just couldn't take it. Maybe they got going 20, 30, 40 mph, grabbed the brakes and they just burned up. You can read about it here, starting about 1/3 of the way down the page: (before that, it is just emotional drivel)
https://www.bicycling.com/culture/a4...electric-bike/
It should be noted that both parents are lawyers and are not wanting to take ANY responsibility for letting their daughter ride the bike down this hill they live on.
Further down in the article, they document brake problems on the Rad bikes; especially those who ride a LOT of miles in hilly areas and don't feel like brake maintenance every 200-300 miles is reasonable. That's something that I'm sure Rad is looking into.
The one bright thing about the story is that Molly's organs saved three peoples' lives after her own death.
The effect on the rest of us is that eBike manufacturers are going to be increasingly more legally careful because of this family. Better brakes and lower speeds, probably.
It seems to me though, from what I can see, that the brakes were worn out or that Rad didn't design their brakes for two-up riding down a 14% grade. It's just a matter of time before someone does it.
Rad will probably get out of it, maybe by settling, but they'll stick to their warning that < 16 year old riders don't have the experience or judgment to ride these bikes. They'll definitely beef up their wording about brakes and maybe even instruct on maintenance and changing pads and rotors.