A woman who was run over and impaled by an e-bike is on a mission to get them better regulated in Massachusetts as their popularity grows. 

It's rare to see Lynne Forester and her husband Gary sitting still. Their iPad is proof, filled with photos from their international hiking trips. 

"We've hiked 200 miles at one time, and 112 miles another time. We've done ten walks like that," Lynne said. 

At home, Lynne walks five miles on the Cape Cod Rail Trail every morning. But one morning last month, disaster struck. An e-bike slammed into Lynne. Somehow, the handlebars impaled her left eye. Her eye is still completely shut and the prognosis is unclear. 

"I remember being hit. I remember my hands being under my face and blood was pouring out of my eye and then I went unconscious," she recalled. 

At the scene, first responders used the Jaws of Life to cut the handlebars from Lynne's face. She spent 24 days in the hospital.

"I'm better than I thought I would be, accepting the damage to my eye," she said. 

Lynne knows she's lucky to be alive. Last summer, Minh Dang, a father of three in Braintree, was hit and killed by an e-bike in Boston's Back Bay. His family said he loved gardening, coffee, and being a dad. 

So how could that happen from a bicycle? 

E-bikes make going faster easier, thanks to a built-in battery that gives riders a boost while pedaling up to 20 miles per hour. 

Mark Vautour at Landry's Bicycles can hardly keep them in stock. 

"They're tremendously popular and growing," Vautour said. 

There are basically two types of e-bikes: 

• Class 1, which uses pedal assist only. 
• Class 2, which has both pedals and a throttle. 
  

They're convenient and fun - when you ride under control. Whether you pedal or hit the throttle, once you reach 20 miles per hour, the battery shuts off. 

E-bikes being modified

The law in Massachusetts says if you go faster than 20 miles per hour using a motor, you need a license, registration, and a helmet. But police say a lot of people are modifying their bikes. 

A quick search on YouTube shows dozens of videos explaining how to change the settings. Within minutes, riders can manipulate the settings to get their bikes up to 40 miles per hour. 

Police across Massachusetts have been sharing videos of crashes and near-crashes, many involving teenagers. 

In Mansfield, Police Chief Ronald Sellon told the town's Select Board that they need to have a discussion about tighter rules on local bike paths. He says modified e-bikes are especially dangerous - powerful enough to reach speeds more like mopeds or motorcycles. 

"I don't think that folks realize that by law, that takes it from something that your 14- or 15-year-old can ride with a bicycle helmet - to you know you need a license, it needs to be registered," Sellon said. 

Lawmakers debate e-bike changes

Many towns are already changing rules and posting warnings. At the State House, lawmakers are debating what else can be done.

The answer is still unclear. State Senator Barry Finegold, a Democrat from Andover, is pushing hard. 

"Make it be common sense. If these things are like motorcycles, then get them licensed like motorcycles," he said. 

Meanwhile, get well cards and doctor's appointments are piling up for Lynne Forester. Her left eye remains closed, and she still doesn't know if she'll ever see again. 

"From what I know, the muscles that open your eye are not working," she said. 

She wants everyone to hear what happened to her and she wants e-bikes off all trails.

"I said it the first day I woke up, I said, 'That's going to be my mission,'" she said.

State law currently bans e-bikes on unpaved bike paths and kids under 17 have to wear helmets. Some towns want to ban them on all paths and make adults wear helmets as well.

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