Colorado police officers are under fire after dashcam footage shows them abandoning a handcuffed woman in the police car as a train approaches and hits the vehicle. The 20-year-old victim is reportedly in the hospital as she suffered from life-threatening injuries and is currently in critical condition but fortunately expected to live.
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Warning: The article contains upsetting information
Colorado police have released disturbing footage that captures the moment a train slammed into a police car with a woman handcuffed inside.
On Friday, the Fort Lupton Police Department released body and dashcam footage that showed a speeding train hit a parked police car, with Yareni Rios-Gonzalez inside.
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According to CNN, Rios-Gonzalez is in hospital and is in critical condition. Thankfully, she is expected to survive.
The disturbing incident happened on the eve of September 16 which shows Rios-Gonzalez - who was a suspect in a road-rage incident - asking why she was being pulled over.
The woman is then handcuffed and forced into the back of the car which is then pulled over on railroad tracks.
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The officers continue to search the woman's car for several minutes, checking to find any other person or hidden weapons in the vehicle. As they continue to search, one of the officers can be heard saying: "Did you see her toss anything?"
Another officer replies: "She could have because when I was behind her she was driving slow enough that she could have tossed something back."
As their search goes on, a train horn is heard blaring in the distance, and the officers back away from the vehicles as a train slams into the police car, with Rios-Gonzalez still inside.
An attorney acting on behalf of Rios-Gonzalez, Paul Wilkinson, told CNN: "When she was in the back of the car, she was able to see the train coming. She was frantically trying to escape, trying to open the doors, but she was handcuffed.
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"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. And as you can imagine, lost consciousness and woke up at the hospital. She's obviously very upset."
As per The Denver Post, it is reported that the 20-year-old suffered from various life-threatening injuries, including a broken arm, a fractured sternum, nine broken ribs, head injuries, and broken teeth.
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As the incident footage went viral on social media, people took to the comments section to express their anger, with one person writing that the police officers should receive punishment: "Police abandon handcuffed woman in squad car parked on tracks as train approaches. Yareni Rios-Gonzalez, 20, suffered 9 broken ribs, broken arm, broken teeth, head, back and leg injuries, as cops fled. Paid leave for the cop."
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The Colorado Bureau of Investigation released a statement saying that: "While specific details cannot be provided, CBI agents are actively investigating its portion of the case through interviews and a comprehensive review of evidentiary material from the scene." The press release also revealed that the agents would be investigating serious bodily injury.
The Platteville Police Department, who assisted Fort Lupton Police on the evening of the incident, wrote on their Facebook page that they would be "fully cooperating with all relevant investigations and will await findings on the specific involvement of its employee in this matter."
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