TRAINWRECK POLICING

Colorado Cops Charged for Leaving Handcuffed Woman Trapped on Train Tracks

Yareni Rios-Gonzalez suffered a head injury and several broken bones after a train slammed into the police SUV she’d been left in.

Two police officers have been charged for leaving a handcuffed woman trapped in a police car on railroad tracks as a train came soaring down the tracks. Yareni Rios-Gonzalez, 20, suffered a head injury, back injury and nine broken ribs, a broken sternum, and broken arm after a Union Pacific train crashed into the police SUV Sept. 16. Police body-camera footage shows an officer running for safety as the train came hurtling toward the SUV, its horn blaring. Fort Lupton Police Department officer Jordan Steinke has been charged with one count of criminal attempt to commit manslaughter, one count of second-degree assault and one count of reckless endangerment. 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 is on administrative leave, according to the Fort Lupton police chief, while Vasquez’s status is unknown (although he’s still listed on the Platteville PD’s website). Both cops were searching Rios-Gonzalez’s pickup truck for weapons when the train crashed into Vasquez’s SUV, neither reacting for 15 seconds, according to the footage. She had been pulled over for a road rage incident, charged with felony menacing for allegedly pointing a gun at someone. Rios-Gonzalez has been released from the hospital after a 12-day stay and plans to file a civil lawsuit against the cops.