Woman Awarded $8.5 Million After Being Left Inside Police Car That Was Hit By Train

A woman recently received an $8.5 million settlement after a distressing incident where she was left inside a police car that was struck by a freight train.

The Fort Lupton Police Department released footage showing Yareni Rios-Gonzalez handcuffed by officers in September 2022. 

She was being detained as a potential suspect involved in a road rage incident.

The incident unfolded when Sgt. Pablo Vasquez and Fort Lupton Police Officer Jordan Steinke stopped Rios-Gonzalez at a railroad crossing.

Yareni Rios was left with a traumatic brain injury after she was detained in a cop car that was struck by a train. Facebook

They were responding to a report that accused her of brandishing a gun at someone, according to CBS.

The officers placed Rios-Gonzalez in a Platteville Police Department patrol car, which was parked on the train tracks just behind her own vehicle.

After securing her in the car, they returned to inspect her truck.

They wanted to check if there was anyone else inside and to search for any possible weapons.

While she was alone in the patrol car, a train horn was heard shortly before the train hit the car, pushing it into a nearby field.

Rios-Gonzalez was pulled over by police over a suspected road-rage incident Fort Lupton Police Department

During the chaos, one officer at the scene was recorded in the video calling for medical assistance. 

Another officer is heard saying, "The suspect was in the vehicle that was hit by the train."

Rios-Gonzalez was quickly taken to the hospital. 

She sustained multiple injuries but, fortunately, she survived the ordeal.

Her injuries were severe, including several broken bones and a traumatic brain injury, her attorney, Paul Wilkinson, explained to Colorado Public Radio.

The police car was hit by a train. Fort Lupton Police Department

Wilkinson also noted that Rios-Gonzalez had tried to catch the attention of the officers before the train struck the car.

Speaking to CNN, he said: "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." 

However, Steinke's defense attorneys argued that she was unaware that Vazquez had parked the patrol car on the tracks, as reported by The Guardian.

In the aftermath, Rios-Gonzalez was granted an $8.5 million dollar settlement. 

Her lawyer, Eric M. Ziporin, told CNN that the payment would be equally divided between the town and city, covered by their insurance companies.

"This is an excellent result and a hard-fought result," Wilkinson commented, as quoted by The New York Post.

Both officers involved were fired and criminally charged following the crash. Fort Lupton Police Department

"She is up and moving around. She is still recovering from some physical and emotional impacts that she'll be dealing with for the rest of her life.

"But considering she got hit by a train, she's doing all right."

Last year, Vasquez and Steinke faced legal consequences for their actions.

After admitting to reckless endangerment in December, Vasquez received a sentence of 12 months of unsupervised probation, according to the Associated Press.

He was also fired by his department. 

Steinke, on the other hand, was convicted of the same charge along with a misdemeanor for assault.

She received a sentence of 30 months of supervised probation and was ordered to complete 100 hours of community service.