Woman Arrested In Colorado Hit by Train After Cops Leave Patrol Car Parked on Tracks

News By TooFab Staff |
Northern News Net

As police cleared the woman's car from the scene, a train barreled through the cruiser -- with her in the back seat.

A 20-year-old woman has been hospitalized with "serious bodily injuries" after the police patrol car she was placed in was struck by a train.

Per the Colorado Bureau of Investigations, the incident went down in Fort Lupton, Colorado on Friday, September 16 -- after officers responded to a call about an alleged road rage incident involving a firearm. They located the vehicle and made a traffic stop "just past" railroad tracks, with police pulling behind the car on the tracks themselves.

20-year-old Yareni Rios-Gonzalez was detained and placed in to the back of cruiser, which was left on the tracks while officers cleared her vehicle as part of the investigation. It was then that a train struck the patrol car.

Sustaining what the CBI calls "serious bodily injuries," Rios-Gonzalez was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. In an update on Monday, investigators said she remained hospitalized with "multiple injuries and is expected to survive." There were no other injuries.

The incident is now being investigated by numerous agencies, including the CBI, which is focused on Rios-Gonzalez's injuries. The Colorado State Patrol is "investigating the serious-injury traffic accident that occurred between the train and the Platteville Police Department patrol vehicle," while the Ft. Lupton Police Department is "handling the criminal investigation of the incidents leading up to the initial call for police assistance."

According to KDVR, the officer whose car was struck has been placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation.

"The Town of Platteville continues to work cooperatively with CBI and CSP during their investigation regarding this incident," Platteville Police Chief Carl Dwyer told the outlet.