Weld County crash video shows train hitting police car with woman inside

Police body camera video from Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022, shows police illegally parked on train tracks in Weld County.
Fort Lupton Police via 9News
Police video from Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022, shows a train as it’s about to hit a police car illegally parked on tracks in Weld County.

The Fort Lupton Police Department has released body camera footage from the night of a train crash that severely injured a 20-year-old woman last week.

According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, a Platteville police officer pulled over Yareni Rios-Gonzalez in Weld County, near Highway 85 and County Road 38, after an alleged road rage incident involving a gun. Two Fort Lupton police officers later arrived at the scene and placed her in the back of the Platteville officer’s car, which was illegally parked on railroad tracks. 

While the three officers were searching Rios-Gonzalez’s pickup truck, a train blowing its horn hit the patrol car she was inside. CBI said Rios-Gonzalez suffered “serious bodily injuries,” including multiple broken ribs and a fractured sternum.

An 8-minute video of the Sept. 17 crash was shared Friday by Jeremy Jojola of 9News. He said Fort Lupton police edited down the recording from 21 hours of footage recorded from multiple perspectives. The clip appears to match the CBI account.

Platteville police chief Carl Dwyer confirmed Tuesday that the Platteville police officer involved is on administrative leave while an investigation is underway. The Fort Lupton Police Department has not responded to a request for comment from CPR News. 

Several Colorado agencies are investigating aspects of the incident alongside CBI. Fort Lupton Police will investigate the initial 911 call that led to the stop, while the Colorado State Patrol will look into the crash itself.

Correction: This story has been updated to correct the victim's name.