A Southern California driver has been charged nearly a year after an incident led to the tragic death of a young man engaged in a risky stunt called “car surfing” on the side of a pickup truck.
In Huntington Beach, Brandon Scott Soleau, aged 21, faces accusations related to a dangerous ride involving 20-year-old aspiring surf talent Kolby Aipa. The young duo dangerously hit high speeds as they joined the Pacific Coast Highway last August, with Aipa holding onto Soleau’s moving vehicle while riding an electric bike.
Unfortunately, Aipa, who was not wearing protective headgear, lost his balance and tumbled from the bike, leading to fatal injuries. He succumbed to blunt head trauma on August 5, 2025, just three days following the accident.
The accident happened as Aipa and a group of eight companions were on their way back from a movie premiere in Huntington Beach.
Ultimately, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office has charged Soleau with one felony count of vehicular manslaughter due to gross negligence. He reportedly allowed Aipa to grip onto his 2015 Toyota Tacoma, which was speeding at approximately 50 miles per hour at the time.
Prosecutors noted that it is illegal for any “person riding a motorcycle, motorized bicycle, bicycle, coaster, roller skates, sled or toy vehicle” to attach themselves to a vehicle on a roadway.”
Soleau will be arraigned on July 23, 2026, at the Stephen K. Tamura West Justice Center in Westminster.
“This tragedy cost the life of a young man with his entire future ahead of him and will forever impact a young man who will have to live the rest of his life knowing that he killed his friend,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said.
“This is a stark reminder that every action and every decision have a consequence, and in this instance the price of those decisions was the life of a 20-year-old man and that is a price no one should ever have to pay,” he added.
Aipa is the grandson of legendary Hawaiian surfboard maker Ben Aipa. Ben made the surfboard that the “father of surfing,” Fred Hemmings, rode to victory in the World Surfing Championship in Puerto Rico.
“As the founder of AIPA, Ben’s vision lives on in every board that bears his name painstakingly built to perpetuate his life’s work. Each one is an authentic experience of surf history, heritage, and innovation,” they wrote about Ben.
The company memorialized Kolby last year.
“Kolby always had a way with touching the lives of whoever he met. His acts of kindness and caring was his gift of Aloha to friends and strangers alike,” they wrote in an Instagram post. “To everyone that reads this… pass his Aloha on. So, how Kolby treated you, treat others in that same way…In this you are continuing his legacy of Aloha.”
Soleau faces a maximum sentence of six years in state prison if he is convicted of his alleged crimes.