Woman seriously hurt after Colorado police car she was placed in is hit by a trainA 20-year-old woman was seriously injured when the parked police patrol car she was detained in was struck by a train in Colorado.
The incident occurred about 7:30 p.m. Friday near U.S. 85 and County Road 38, just north of Platteville, near Denver, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation said in a news release.
"Although early in the investigation, it's believed the initial call was reported as an alleged road rage incident involving a firearm in Ft. Lupton earlier in the evening," the bureau said.
The bureau identified the woman Monday as Yareni Rios-Gonzalez, a Greeley resident.
A Platteville police officer stopped Rios-Gonzalez's car just past a set of railroad tracksand parked the patrol car on the crossing.
Two Fort Lupton officers arrived, and she was placed in the back of the Platteville officer's vehicle, which the train hit as it was traveling northbound while officers searched her car. It was not immediately clear what type of train struck the car. No one else was injured.
Rios-Gonzalez was detained on suspicion of felony menacing, the bureau said, and taken to a Greeley hospital. She remained hospitalized with multiple injuries Monday and is expected to survive, a spokesperson for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation said.
In response to an inquiry Monday, Platteville Police Chief Carl Dwyer said the officer involved from his department has been placed on paid administrative leave while an investigation is completed.
Fort Lupton police are investigating the road rage report, while the Colorado State Patrol is investigating the crash. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation said it is investigating the woman's injury while she was in police custody.
Ian Farrell, an associate professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, said the officer who parked the car on the tracks could be charged with reckless endangerment.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/woman-seriously-hurt-colorado-police-car-was-placed-hit-train-rcna48338