Colorado

Colorado Officers Charged After Train Hit Patrol Car With Handcuffed Woman Inside

Fort Lupton Police Department officer Jordan Steinke and Platteville Police Department Sgt. Pablo Vazquez are facing criminal charges

NBCUniversal Media, LLC Horrifying video shows the moments surrounding a crash when a police car with a detained woman inside gets slammed by a train. The suspect survived but suffered serious injuries. Warning: Some viewers may find the video difficult to watch.

Two Colorado police officers have been charged after leaving a woman handcuffed in the back of a patrol SUV parked on railroad tracks that was then hit by a train.

Fort Lupton Police Department officer Jordan Steinke was charged with one count of criminal attempt to commit manslaughter, one count of second-degree assault and one count of reckless endangerment, the Weld County District Attorney's Office said in a statement.

Platteville Police Department Sgt. Pablo Vazquez is charged with one count of reckless endangerment, one count of obstructing a highway or other passageway, one count of careless driving and one count of parking where prohibited.

Steinke and Vazquez could not immediately be reached for comment. It was unclear whether either officer retained attorneys.

The officers responded to a reported road rage incident involving Yareni Rios-Gonzalez, 20, who was accused of threatening a woman with a gun, the Colorado Bureau of Investigations said.

Police stopped Rios-Gonzalez's car right just past a set of railroad tracks, with the patrol SUV parked right behind her on the train's crossing. She was detained on suspicion of felony menacing and handcuffed inside Vazquez's police cruiser.

Police bodycamera and dashboard camera video captured the moment a Union Pacific freight train barreled down the tracks and slammed into the patrol vehicle, with the woman inside, as officers were searching her car.

Rios-Gonzalez suffered serious injuries in the crash, including a broken arm, multiple rib fractures, loss of several teeth and injuries to her head and legs, according to her attorney.

Her attorney did not immediately return NBC's request for comment.

NBC affiliate KUSA reported the Platteville Police Department had placed Vazquez on administrative leave following the incident. His employment status was not clear Tuesday.

The Fort Lupton Police Department, which is handling the criminal investigation related to the incident, did not immediately respond to NBC News' inquiry Tuesday about Steinke's employment status.

Exit mobile version