A manslaughter case has been filed in the death of an Orange County royal heir
It's been nearly a year since the 20-year-old grandson of a famous surfboard maker was killed when he “car dived” into an e-bike on the Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach.
Now, the young man accused of pulling over Kolby Aipa while driving over 50 mph is facing criminal charges.
Brandon Scott Soleau, 21, of Huntington Beach, has been charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter in Aipa's death, according to the Orange County district attorney's office. He is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday and will serve up to six years in prison if convicted.
Aipa was the grandson of iconic surfer Ben Aipa, known for pioneering surfboard styles such as bite and refining the swallowtail design in the 1970s.
Surfer Magazine described young Aipa as the “heir to surf royalty,” noting that he had a promising surfing career of his own, as well as endorsements from several surfwear companies.
In September, Aipa became the youngest member of the Surfers' Hall of Fame when he was posthumously honored with a plaque next to his grandfather's handprints in the cement in front of Huntington Surf & Sport.
Aipa was seriously injured on Aug. 2, 2025, after attending a movie premiere during the US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach.
Around 10:30 p.m. that night, eight passengers piled into Soleau's 2015 Toyota Tacoma, including three people in the bed of the truck, prosecutors said.
Aipa was riding his e-bike next to Soleau's truck on a service road parallel to PCH when he asked his friend if he could ride and “ride the car,” prosecutors said. Soleau allegedly said yes.
Aipa, who was not wearing a helmet, then put his arm through the front passenger window of the truck and grabbed it, prosecutors said. Under the California Vehicle Code, it is illegal for anyone riding a bike, bicycle, motorcycle or roller skates to attach themselves to another vehicle on the road.
A passenger filmed Aipa being pulled over while Soleau was traveling southbound on PCH at about 50 mph, prosecutors said. Soon after, Aipa lost control of his e-bike and crashed. He was taken to hospital in critical condition and died three days later due to head injuries.
“This is a stark reminder that every action and every decision has consequences, and in this case the cost of those decisions was the life of a 20-year-old man and that's a price no one should have to pay,” OC Dist. He said. Todd Spitzer said in a statement Friday.
Aipa's death was widely mourned in Hawaii, where his family is from, and in Huntington Beach where he lived.
“I was working hard in this life, carrying on my father's legacy, I think I have this diving legacy that I needed to pass on to my son and my son was going to run with it,” said Kolby's father, Duke Aipa, at the ceremony to induct his son into the Hall of Fame. “That didn't happen, but what did happen was that Kolby found a way to come back full circle to the basic principles of love and aloha.”
Aipa Surf, the board company founded by Kolby's grandfather, released a statement following his death saying the young surfer “had a way of touching the lives of everyone he met.”
“His acts of kindness and caring were his gift of Aloha to friends and strangers alike,” the company said. “To everyone reading this … pass on their Aloha.”
Times Community News writer Matt Szabo contributed to this report.
