What happened on the night of September 16, 2022, near Platteville, Colorado, should never have happened. Police officers are trained to monitor and know their surroundings to bring order to the situation if things get out of hand. It’s the fundamentals of law enforcement; they need to be in control of the environment. It’s nothing new. Parking on live train tracks and expecting all locomotive traffic to cease is another story.
That’s the tragic ending to a traffic stop that almost got a woman killed. After being detained over a reported road rage incident, police handcuffed this individual and placed her in a cruiser, which was later hit by an oncoming train. It’s been months, but there’s been some development in this case.
When Officer Jordan Steinke realized what was about to happen, it was too late. The detained individual couldn’t be extracted from the car, and a collision occurred. It’s all captured on video. Yareni Rios-Gonzalez, 20, was helpless as the train destroyed the cruiser, suffering severe injuries.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation issued this statement after this chaotic arrest:
Multiple agencies are investigating a critical incident where an individual detained by police sustained serious bodily injuries near US85 and County Rd. 36 just north of Platteville just after 7:30 p.m. on Friday, September 16, 2022.
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.
An officer with the Platteville Police Department (PPD) located the vehicle to make a traffic stop on US85 and County Rd. 36. The driver of the vehicle pulled to a stop just past the railroad tracks, with the patrol officer behind the car on the tracks. Two Ft. Lupton officers arrived on the scene and the team conducted a high-risk traffic stop and detained a lone female occupant (age 20, Greeley) placing her in the back of the Platteville patrol car detained on suspicion of felony menacing. While the officers cleared the suspect vehicle as part of the investigation, a train traveling northbound struck the PPD patrol car.
The female was transported to a Greeley hospital for treatment.
Lawsuits were filed in the aftermath, which was a forgone conclusion, given this shambolic stop. In July, it was reported that Steinke and another police officer were going to be placed on trial for multiple charges, which included reckless endangerment, third-degree assault, and criminal attempt to commit manslaughter (via Associated Press):
Previously released police video shows officers searching Rios-Gonzalez’s truck as the train approaches with its horn is blaring. Other footage shows officers scrambling as the train approaches and slams into the vehicle.
Steinke, who was working for the Fort Lupton Police Department, was following her training, which taught her to focus on patting down the suspect, getting her in the nearest patrol car and then making sure there was no one else in Rios-Gonzalez’s vehicle who could be waiting to ambush police, Revel said.
The officer from the nearby Platteville Police Department who parked the patrol car on the tracks is also being prosecuted for misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment. Steinke is being prosecuted for criminal attempt to commit manslaughter, a felony; reckless endangerment; and third-degree assault, both misdemeanors.
Steinke was later found guilty of reckless endangerment (via CBS News):
The Colorado officer who put a suspect in a car hit by a train was found guilty of reckless endangerment but acquitted of an attempt to commit manslaughter. The verdict was not decided by a jury, instead by Judge Timothy Kerns in Weld County.
[…]
Steinke was charged with felony attempted reckless manslaughter and misdemeanor reckless endangerment. She was accused of placing Rios-Gonzalez in the back of Platteville Police Sgt. Pablo Vazquez's car, which Vazquez parked on the railroad tracks.
The Colorado officer who put a suspect in a car hit by a train was found guilty of reckless endangerment but acquitted of an attempt to commit manslaughter. The verdict was not decided by a jury, instead by Judge Timothy Kerns in Weld County.
On the stand, Steinke said she didn't know Vazquez was parked on train tracks. Asked by her own defense attorney why she put Rios-Gonzalez in Vazquez's car, Steinke said she wanted to return to Vazquez and another officer as quickly as possible to help clear Rios-Gonzalez's truck in case someone else was still inside.
Moments later, the train rounded a bend in the tracks. Steinke said she didn't know a train was coming until right before it hit. On Monday, the train's engineer said they didn't realize a police car was on the tracks until they were about 150 feet away while traveling about 45 mph.
"I saw the front headlights of the train and heard the horn at the same time -- right before impact," said Steinke, who said she didn't realize they were on a railroad crossing because it was dark, they were outside of her jurisdiction of Fort Lupton and her primary fear during the car stop was a gunfight.
She will be sentenced on September 15.