Woman arrested in Colorado hit by train after police parked patrol car on tracks

According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigations, the incident took place in Fort Lupton, Colorado on Friday, Sept. 16, after officers responded to a call about an alleged traffic incident involving a firearm. They found the vehicle and made a traffic stop “just past” railway tracks, with the police themselves driving behind the car on the track.

Yareni Rios-Gonzalez, 20, was arrested and placed in the back of a cruiser, which remained on the track while officers cleared her vehicle as part of the investigation. It was then that a train hit the patrol car.

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

The incident is now under investigation by numerous agencies, including the CBI, which is focusing on Rios-Gonzalez’s injuries. The Colorado State Patrol is “investigating the seriously injured traffic accident between the train and the Platteville Police Department patrol vehicle,” while the Ft. Lupton Police are “handling the criminal investigation into the incidents that led to the first call for police help.”

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

“The City of Platteville continues to work with CBI and CSP in their investigation of this incident,” Platteville Police Chief Carl Dwyer told the outlet.