Allegheny County sheriff’s deputies took a driver into custody after she plowed her car through barricades at Sunday’s OpenStreetsPGH, an event that allows pedestrians and bicyclists free rein on certain roads.
The first Open Streets ride of the year, held from 10 am to 2 pm, made a route through several East End neighborhoods: Shadyside, East Liberty, Larimer, Homewood and North Point Breeze. Bike Pittsburgh organizes the event.
Several sheriff’s deputies were assigned to a public safety detail, Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin Kraus said in a statement. A woman drove her vehicle through a barricade at the intersection of Brushton Avenue and Thomas Boulevard in North Point Breeze. Three deputies stopped the vehicle.
The driver was “verbally abusive and non-compliant with commands from the deputies,” Kraus said. The deputies broke the driver’s side window to remove the woman from the vehicle and take her into custody.
“I want to commend the quick action of these deputies to immediately intervene in a dangerous situation, preventing further escalation by this driver,” Kraus said.
His statement did not identify the driver or provide any information about injuries.
In a statement, Bike Pittsburgh said the driver “did not observe the two layers of posted barricades” meant to keep the OpenStreetsPGH course free of cars and “aggressively broke through and entered the closed course.”
“To our knowledge, one BikePGH staffer suffered injuries from the aggressive driver while protecting event attendees,” the statement said.
BikePGH did not offer details on the extent of the staffer’s injuries.
This marks the first time such an incident has occurred since BikePGH began hosting the OpenStreetPGH events in 2014.
“We are proud of our decade-long record of maintaining a safe event for thousands of people of all ages to enjoy,” the organization’s statement said.