Sewickley Police: Bicyclist Faces Charges, Accused of Impeding Traffic and Resisting Arrest

A Coraopolis man is facing charges after police said he rode his bicycle in the middle Route 65 traffic Tuesday and refused to get out of the way.

Sewickley police plan to charge Heinz-Peter Langhorst, 51, of State Avenue with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. 

Sewickley police Patrolman Kenneth Wolf was monitoring traffic at 11:25 a.m. Tuesday, May 28 in the 100 block of Ohio River Boulevard when a motorist reported a bicyclist riding southbound in the right traffic lane. 

Police said the bicyclist, later deemed to be Langhorst, was wandering on the road and into traffic, blocking vehicles from going around.

A couple of minutes after speaking to the motorist, Wolf saw Langhorst riding his bike southbound on Route 65, wandering to the middle of the right lane and back toward the curb. 

According to a police report, Langhorst was impeding the normal traffic flow and creating a dangerous situation. Heavy rain further prevented motorists from seeing Langhorst’s bike, which was black and did not have reflectors or lights, police said. 

Vehicles had to slow quickly to avoid Langhorst's bike, but police said heavy traffic flow prevented the slowed vehicles from being able to change lanes. 

Wolf caught up with Langhorst as he was starting to ride down the middle of the lanes between vehicles stopped for the red light at Walnut Street. 

The officer blew the horn and at first police said Langhorst didn’t respond. The second time the officer blew, police said Langhorst started back toward the police car yelling that he was allowed to ride on the highway. Police said he then turned his bicycle around and placed it behind a car stopped in traffic for the red light. 

When the officer exited his car and asked Langhorst to move off the road to the sidewalk, police said Langhorst immediately became defensive, folding his arms in front of him and sitting on the bike in the middle of the lane. 

The officer again asked Langhorst to move, and police said he refused, stating that he had a Superior Court decision ruling in his favor that allowed him to ride his bike on the highway, police said. 

The officer explained that Langhorst was impeding the flow of traffic and creating a dangerous situation, and police said he was again asked to get off the highway or be arrested. 

Police said Langhorst again refused and tried to pull his arm away as the officer attempted to physically remove him from the road. 

Langhorst told the officer he was making a big mistake violating his right to ride on the highway. Police said he continued to resist and was physically removed from the bike onto the sidewalk. He then refused to put his hands behind his back and turned as if to grab at the officer but was quickly handcuffed, police said. 

On the way to the police station, Langhorst complained that his wrist was hurt and the handcuffs were too tight. Valley Ambulance responded to evaluate Langhorst, who requested to be transported to the hospital. 

He was taken to Heritage Valley Sewickley hospital for further evaluation and released. Langhorst was then transported back to the police station, where he expressed remorse for his actions, police said.    

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