Newly released body camera and dash camera footage shows the aftermath of Colorado police officers leaving a woman accused of road rage to be hit by a train. They had decided to park the police cruiser she was held in on train tracks. “When she was in the back of the car, she was able to see the train coming,” Paul Wilkinson, an attorney for the woman, told CNN in a story reported on Saturday. “She was frantically trying to escape, trying to open the doors, but she was handcuffed.”
Yareni Rios-Gonzalez, 20, sustained serious bodily injuries in the incident, which occurred on Sept. 16, according to the investigating agency, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
RELATED STORY: A Colorado man was shot and killed after asking 911 for help following a car accident
Warning: Videos in this story contain footage of the train crash that may be triggering to viewers.
“As stated previously, this investigation is being managed in a bifurcated manner due to the many elements of the incident,” the CBI wrote in a news release.
While the incident happened in the jurisdiction of the Fort Lupton Police Department, a Platteville Police Department (PPD) officer initially stopped Rios-Gonzalez related to allegations of a traffic offense on Sept. 16, the CBI reported.
“Although early in the investigation, it’s believed the initial call was reported as an alleged road rage incident involving a firearm in Ft. Lupton earlier in the evening,” a CBI official wrote in an earlier news release.
When a Platteville officer spotted the vehicle Rios-Gonzalez was driving, the officer pulled her over. "The driver of the vehicle pulled to a stop just past the railroad tracks, with the patrol officer behind the car on the tracks," the CBI wrote.
Two Fort Lupton officers arrived later and conducted what's known as a "high-risk traffic stop," detaining Rios-Gonzalez on suspicion of felony menacing and putting her in the back of the Platteville patrol car, the CBI reported.
Footage released by the Fort Lupton Police Department shows Rios-Gonzalez with her hands up before she asked police where they were taking her. “We’re taking you to the car,” one of the officers said.
Rios-Gonzalez asked for her cell phone, to which the officer responded that they’d get it later. One of the officers asked Rios-Gonzalez if there were any weapons in the car, and she responded, “No ma'am.”
Officers searched Rios-Gonzalez’s car. They were talking about the possibility of her tossing a gun out of the window when the horn from the approaching train sounded.
YouTube Video
"While the officers cleared the suspect vehicle as part of the investigation, a train traveling northbound struck the PPD patrol car," the CBI wrote.
Wilkinson told reporters his client screamed for officers to pay attention and instead ended up hospitalized with a broken arm, nine broken ribs, and injuries to her head, back, and legs. She is expected to survive, NBC News reported.
“I don’t know if they just couldn’t hear her or if they were too busy searching her car, but she saw it coming and prepared for the worst,” Wilkinson said.
Rios-Gonzalez lost consciousness and woke up at the hospital, the attorney said.
The Fort Lupton Police Department is investigating what led to the initial call to police. The agency said in a Facebook post that it has applied for an arrest warrant through the Weld County District Attorney’s Office.
The police department’s full news release:
Facebook Content
The Colorado State Patrol is investigating the traffic element of the incident involving the crash between the train and patrol vehicle, and the CBI is looking into the injury occurring in police custody.
Krista Henery, a spokesperson for the Weld County District Attorney’s Office, told CNN that “everything is still being investigated and no charges have been filed for the suspect/victim or any officers.”
The officer who parked the cruiser on the railroad tracks has been put on paid administrative leave, Platteville Police Chief Carl Dwyer told CNN.
Yareni Rios-Gonzalez, 20, sustained serious bodily injuries in the incident, which occurred on Sept. 16, according to the investigating agency, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
RELATED STORY: A Colorado man was shot and killed after asking 911 for help following a car accident
Warning: Videos in this story contain footage of the train crash that may be triggering to viewers.
“As stated previously, this investigation is being managed in a bifurcated manner due to the many elements of the incident,” the CBI wrote in a news release.
While the incident happened in the jurisdiction of the Fort Lupton Police Department, a Platteville Police Department (PPD) officer initially stopped Rios-Gonzalez related to allegations of a traffic offense on Sept. 16, the CBI reported.
“Although early in the investigation, it’s believed the initial call was reported as an alleged road rage incident involving a firearm in Ft. Lupton earlier in the evening,” a CBI official wrote in an earlier news release.
When a Platteville officer spotted the vehicle Rios-Gonzalez was driving, the officer pulled her over. "The driver of the vehicle pulled to a stop just past the railroad tracks, with the patrol officer behind the car on the tracks," the CBI wrote.
Two Fort Lupton officers arrived later and conducted what's known as a "high-risk traffic stop," detaining Rios-Gonzalez on suspicion of felony menacing and putting her in the back of the Platteville patrol car, the CBI reported.
Footage released by the Fort Lupton Police Department shows Rios-Gonzalez with her hands up before she asked police where they were taking her. “We’re taking you to the car,” one of the officers said.
Rios-Gonzalez asked for her cell phone, to which the officer responded that they’d get it later. One of the officers asked Rios-Gonzalez if there were any weapons in the car, and she responded, “No ma'am.”
Officers searched Rios-Gonzalez’s car. They were talking about the possibility of her tossing a gun out of the window when the horn from the approaching train sounded.
YouTube Video
"While the officers cleared the suspect vehicle as part of the investigation, a train traveling northbound struck the PPD patrol car," the CBI wrote.
Wilkinson told reporters his client screamed for officers to pay attention and instead ended up hospitalized with a broken arm, nine broken ribs, and injuries to her head, back, and legs. She is expected to survive, NBC News reported.
“I don’t know if they just couldn’t hear her or if they were too busy searching her car, but she saw it coming and prepared for the worst,” Wilkinson said.
Rios-Gonzalez lost consciousness and woke up at the hospital, the attorney said.
The Fort Lupton Police Department is investigating what led to the initial call to police. The agency said in a Facebook post that it has applied for an arrest warrant through the Weld County District Attorney’s Office.
The police department’s full news release:
Facebook Content
The Colorado State Patrol is investigating the traffic element of the incident involving the crash between the train and patrol vehicle, and the CBI is looking into the injury occurring in police custody.
Krista Henery, a spokesperson for the Weld County District Attorney’s Office, told CNN that “everything is still being investigated and no charges have been filed for the suspect/victim or any officers.”
The officer who parked the cruiser on the railroad tracks has been put on paid administrative leave, Platteville Police Chief Carl Dwyer told CNN.