Colorado officer put on leave after train hits patrol car parked on tracks, woman inside injured

A police officer in Platteville, Colorado, has been put on administrative leave after a patrol car, which had a handcuffed woman inside, was hit by a train.

The officer, who has not yet been named, pulled over Yareni Rios-Gonzalez on September 16th after police in nearby Fort Lupton received a call about a road rage incident involving a gun, according to The Denver Post.

A viral video of the incident shows the patrol car being struck by the freight train. The video initially shows the police talking to the woman, followed by the collision and then the police frantically requesting medical assistance.

After the collision took place, a Platteville police officer can be heard repeating: “Hey, was she in there? Was she in there? Was she in there?”

“Oh my God, yes, she was,” the Fort Lupton officer shouts back before requesting emergency assistance. Both officers then run towards the patrol car.

According to her attorney Paul Wilkinson, Rios-Gonzalez was unconscious by the time she arrived at the hospital. Her injuries included a broken arm that required surgery, nine broken ribs, a fractured sternum, and a wound to her back and head.

“She saw it coming and could hear the horn,” Wilkinson told the Denver Post. “She was trying to get the police officers’ attention, screaming at them. She tried unlocking the door. She had her hands behind her back and was frantically trying to unlock the door.”

“I don’t think you ever park on a train track. Ever,” Wilkinson said, blaming the officers for Rios-Gonzalez’s injuries. “That would have avoided the whole situation. You just never park on a train track. You have to park somewhere else.

He added, “It’s unbelievable they did something like this.”

Keith Millhouse, who is a rail safety consultant, echoed the sentiments of Williams and said the collision was avoidable.

“Never park a car on a set of train tracks for any amount of time, even if you think it’s abandoned,” Millhouse said, calling the incident “mind-boggling.”

According to a statement released by the Fort Lupton police department, “officers cleared the suspect vehicle to determine if anyone else was in the vehicle.”

“Within a matter of seconds, the Platteville’s police vehicle, which contained the female detainee, was struck by a northbound train. Fort Lupton officers immediately summoned medical assistance and began life sustaining measures.”