Passenger’s 911 call lands erratic Aspen bus driver in jail

Aspen police arrested a public bus driver Sunday night after he allegedly flipped off a motorist and had a close brush with a bicyclist.

Richard Dale Langston, 45, was cited for reckless driving and a misdemeanor charge of third-degree assault, said Aspen police Sgt. Chip Seamans.

Seamans said Langston was driving a Roaring Fork Transportation Authority bus downvalley sometime after 6 p.m., The Aspen Times reported. As it pulled out of the bus stop at Highway 82 and Eighth Street, the driver apparently got surly with a motorist, who had honked at the bus for cutting it off, Seamans said.

At that point, Langston allegedly gave the motorist the one-finger salute; then, when a bicyclist on the right of the bus raised his arms in protest, the driver swerved toward the bicyclist and had slight contact with him, slightly injuring the cyclist’s elbow, Seamans said. The bicyclist was not hospitalized, and never fell to the ground as a result of the encounter.

Police were notified by a bus passenger, who called 911, Seamans said. They later arrested Langston at Rubey Park Transit Center, Aspen’s downtown bus terminal. Langston was cooperative at the time of the arrest, Seamans said.

Click here for The Aspen Times story.