A newly released police video shows the terrifying moment a train slammed into a police officer’s car while a suspect was handcuffed in the backseat on Sept. 16.
The Fort Lupton Police Department released body camera and dashcam video Friday which showed the nightmare that unfolded when suspect Yareni Rios-Gonzalez was left inside the patrol car. Rios-Gonzalez’s vehicle was stopped by police just past the railroad tracks, but the police officer stopped their vehicle on the tracks, and then placed Rios-Gonzalez inside. The suspect was defenseless when the train plowed into the police car.
Rios-Gonzalez was a suspect in a road rage incident and was placed in the cruiser that was parked on the tracks while police searched her truck for a weapon. Only minutes after the suspect was cuffed and put into the police cruiser, the train could be heard blowing its horn before striking the vehicle. The car was pushed dozens of feet into a field, and the side of the vehicle was crumpled by the force of the impact.
The video footage captures audio from the police officer’s panic-stricken call for medical assistance.
Rios-Gonzalez was aware that the train was racing toward her, but she was completely helpless and her efforts to escape were futile.
“When she was in the back of the car, she was able to see the train coming,” Paul Wilkinson, an attorney for Rios-Gonzalez, said. “She was frantically trying to escape, trying to open the doors, but she was handcuffed,” he said. Wilkinson reported that his client was screaming for help before the impact.
“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,” Wilkinson said.
“She’s obviously very upset,” he added. Explaining that Rios-Gonzalez’s numerous injuries include nine broken ribs, a broken arm, broken teeth, and injuries to her head.
The officer who parked the police car on the tracks has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation, according to Platteville Police Chief Carl Dwyer.
Rios-Gonzalez remains in hospital and is expected to survive.
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