Cops put woman in police car parked on tracks, CO officials say. Then a train came

Update: The Platteville police officer involved in the incident has been placed on paid administrative leave, police said. The woman in the police car, Yareni Rios-Gonzalez, 20, of Greeley, is hospitalized with serious injuries but is expected to survive, Colorado officials say.

A 20-year-old woman inside a police car parked on railroad tracks north of Platteville was injured when a train struck the vehicle, Colorado officials reported.

A Colorado Bureau of Investigation news release said a Platteville police officer investigating a road rage incident stopped the woman at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16, near U.S. 85 and Weld County Road 38.

The woman stopped “just past the railroad tracks” and the officer stopped behind her “on the tracks,” the release said.

Two Fort Lupton police officers arrived and they detained the woman, a Greeley resident, who was suspected of having a firearm, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation reported.

Officers placed the woman in the back of the Platteville officer’s patrol car and went to search her vehicle, the release said.

A train traveling northbound then hit the police car, the agency said.

The woman was hospitalized with a “significant brain injury” the Colorado State Patrol told KMGH. No officers were hurt in the crash.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Colorado State Patrol and Fort Lupton police are investigating.

There were 236 train crossing fatalities and 668 crossing injuries in 2021 across the U.S., according to Operation Lifesaver, a non-profit group promoting rail safety.

Platteville is a town of 3,000 people about 35 miles north of Denver.

This story was originally published September 18, 2022 at 9:18 AM with the headline "Cops put woman in police car parked on tracks, CO officials say. Then a train came."