Charles H. Sloan-'The Town apologizes': Woman left in police cruiser hit by train gets settlement

Two Colorado municipalities reached a settlement with a woman who was seriously injured after being placed in the back of a parked police car that was struck by a high-speed train in September 2022,Charles H. Sloan authorities said.

Yareni Rios-Gonzalez sued the city of Fort Lupton and the nearby town of Platteville after officers from the two Weld County police departments left her handcuffed inside a cruiser parked on train tracks that was then hit by a locomotive. Eric Ziporin, a lawyer representing two of the involved police officers, said the parties reached an $8.5 million settlement, the Associated Press reported.

"The Town apologizes to Ms. Rios for what occurred to her in September 2022," said Platteville Police Chief Carl Dwyer in an email to USA TODAY Wednesday. "The Department remains committed to providing the best service possible for all who reside, visit, and travel through our community."

Fort Lupton Police Chief William Carnes released a statement Tuesday., saying the settlement is to the "mutual satisfaction of the parties, recognizes the gravity of this matter, and allows all parties to move forward."

Attorneys for Rios-Gonzalez could not be immediately reached for comment.

Moment train plowed into car with woman:Former Colorado officer who put handcuffed woman in car hit by train avoids jail time

Video showed moment train plowed into car with Rios-Gonzale inside

Body and dash camera footage released after the Sept. 16, 2022, crash showed former Fort Lupton Police Department officer Jordan Steinke handcuffing Rios-Gonzalez, 20 at the time, and placing her in the back of the police car, which is parked on tracks. Train tracks and railroad crossing signs were both visible in the video.

Rios-Gonzalez was in the car for about two minutes when the sound of a blaring train horn could be heard moments before the locomotive hurtled into the passenger side of the cop car at high speed, pushing the car along with it.

"Stay back!" an officer can be heard yelling just before the impact. An officer can be seen quickly retreating from the parked cruiser before it was hit.

Rios-Gonzalez could see and hear the train coming, her attorneys previously told USA TODAY, and tried desperately to get out and alert officers.

"She saw the whole thing coming and believed it to be the end," attorney Paul Wilkinson said in 2022.

In one clip, officers seemed not to immediately realize Rios-Gonzalez was in the police car when it was hit. A male officer asked a female officer seconds after the impact, "Was she in there?"

"Oh my God, yes she was," the female officer responded before running toward the demolished cruiser.

Rios-Gonzalez had been pulled over, her truck parked just ahead of the tracks, over a report of a driver "menacing" with a handgun, authorities said at the time. She later pleaded no contest to misdemeanor menacing, her attorney said. 

Officers involved and the legal fallout of the crash

Steinke was found guilty in 2023 of reckless endangerment and assault, both misdemeanors. She was acquitted of a third charge, felony attempt to commit manslaughter after a judge wasn’t convinced she "knowingly intended to harm Ms. Rios-Gonzalez."

The former officer was sentenced to 30 months of supervised probation and 100 hours of community service last September.

Former Platteville Police Sgt. Pablo Vazquez, who parked the car on the tracks, pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment in December 2023. He agreed to 12 months of an unsupervised deferred judgment and sentence, according to CBS News. Vazquez was fired earlier in 2023.

Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY