It wasn’t enough that a woman was handcuffed and left trapped in the backseat of a Colorado police cruiser while a train crashed into the vehicle. Now, a 22-year-old man linked to the initial 911 call in that incident has spoken to a local news station about having charges filed against the woman. “If the cops get charged for their mistakes, she should be charged for her mistakes,” the man told NBC-affiliated 9New, asking not to be identified.
The woman he’s referring to is 20-year-old Yareni Rios-Gonzalez, who was seriously injured when two different police departments responded to allegations of a traffic offense involving a firearm on Sept. 16. Officers handcuffed Rios-Gonzalez and put her in the back of a police cruiser while they searched her vehicle for a gun. They apparently didn’t realize a train horn was sounding in the distance. The cruiser was parked on train tracks, with Rios-Gonzalez handcuffed and seated inside.
RELATED STORY: 'She was frantically trying to escape': Woman trapped inside police cruiser parked on train tracks
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Body camera and dash camera footage released by the Fort Lupton Police Department shows the train crashing into the police cruiser.
It’s a miracle Rios-Gonzalez survived, but the 911 caller who had gotten into a dispute with her told 9News he “considers himself a victim of a crime.”
The crime he’s referring to is a reported “road rage” call. The unnamed man described his early encounter with Rios-Gonzalez in his call to a 911 dispatcher.
“I am headed towards Greeley on Highway 85. This lady was completely riding my a-- and then she pulled a gun on me,” he told the dispatcher. He identified the woman as Hispanic.
Attorney Paul Wilkinson, who is representing Yareni Rios-Gonzalez, provided 9News with a different account of what happened. He told the station the 911 caller “was the aggressor” and that “he was speeding ahead of her and then slamming on his brakes, repeatedly harassing her.”
“She was afraid for her life,” Wilkinson said.
The 911 caller admitted that he used his brakes but didn’t detail his response in the encounter.
“When I got to Fort Lupton, I noticed there was a car tailgating me really badly. And that’s when I tapped my brakes and there was a car ahead of me and I had to slow down,” he said. “The car got behind me, pretty close to me.”
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is looking into injuries Rios-Gonzalez sustained while in police custody, confirmed in its initial news release that the incident started with a claim of road rage.
A Platteville Police Department officer initially stopped Rios-Gonzalez before Ft. Lupton cops arrived.
”Two Ft. Lupton officers arrived on the scene, and the team conducted a high-risk traffic stop and detained a lone female occupant [age 20, Greeley] placing her in the back of the Platteville patrol car detained on suspicion of felony menacing,” the CBI said. “While the officers cleared the suspect vehicle as part of the investigation, a train traveling northbound struck the PPD [Platteville Police Department] patrol car.”
Warning: This video contains footage of the train crash that may be triggering to viewers.
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Wilkinson told reporters his client was hospitalized with a broken arm, nine broken ribs, and injuries to her head, back, and legs. “She was frantically trying to escape, trying to open the doors, but she was handcuffed,” he said.
RELATED STORY: A Colorado man was shot and killed after asking 911 for help following a car accident
The woman he’s referring to is 20-year-old Yareni Rios-Gonzalez, who was seriously injured when two different police departments responded to allegations of a traffic offense involving a firearm on Sept. 16. Officers handcuffed Rios-Gonzalez and put her in the back of a police cruiser while they searched her vehicle for a gun. They apparently didn’t realize a train horn was sounding in the distance. The cruiser was parked on train tracks, with Rios-Gonzalez handcuffed and seated inside.
RELATED STORY: 'She was frantically trying to escape': Woman trapped inside police cruiser parked on train tracks
Campaign Action
Body camera and dash camera footage released by the Fort Lupton Police Department shows the train crashing into the police cruiser.
It’s a miracle Rios-Gonzalez survived, but the 911 caller who had gotten into a dispute with her told 9News he “considers himself a victim of a crime.”
The crime he’s referring to is a reported “road rage” call. The unnamed man described his early encounter with Rios-Gonzalez in his call to a 911 dispatcher.
“I am headed towards Greeley on Highway 85. This lady was completely riding my a-- and then she pulled a gun on me,” he told the dispatcher. He identified the woman as Hispanic.
Attorney Paul Wilkinson, who is representing Yareni Rios-Gonzalez, provided 9News with a different account of what happened. He told the station the 911 caller “was the aggressor” and that “he was speeding ahead of her and then slamming on his brakes, repeatedly harassing her.”
“She was afraid for her life,” Wilkinson said.
The 911 caller admitted that he used his brakes but didn’t detail his response in the encounter.
“When I got to Fort Lupton, I noticed there was a car tailgating me really badly. And that’s when I tapped my brakes and there was a car ahead of me and I had to slow down,” he said. “The car got behind me, pretty close to me.”
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is looking into injuries Rios-Gonzalez sustained while in police custody, confirmed in its initial news release that the incident started with a claim of road rage.
A Platteville Police Department officer initially stopped Rios-Gonzalez before Ft. Lupton cops arrived.
”Two Ft. Lupton officers arrived on the scene, and the team conducted a high-risk traffic stop and detained a lone female occupant [age 20, Greeley] placing her in the back of the Platteville patrol car detained on suspicion of felony menacing,” the CBI said. “While the officers cleared the suspect vehicle as part of the investigation, a train traveling northbound struck the PPD [Platteville Police Department] patrol car.”
Warning: This video contains footage of the train crash that may be triggering to viewers.
Embedded Content
Wilkinson told reporters his client was hospitalized with a broken arm, nine broken ribs, and injuries to her head, back, and legs. “She was frantically trying to escape, trying to open the doors, but she was handcuffed,” he said.
RELATED STORY: A Colorado man was shot and killed after asking 911 for help following a car accident