A Colorado police department released footage showing the moment a patrol car — with a woman detained inside — was hit by a train.
Yareni Rios-Gonzalez, 20, was in the car when the train struck the vehicle. She survived the incident, but was rushed to hospital in critical condition.
In the footage, a Platteville police officer can be seen walking around the outside of a police cruiser, which is parked across a set of train tracks.
Police stopped Ms Rios-Gonzalez after she was allegedly involved in a road rage incident. In the footage, she asks police why she's being stopped and is later removed from her vehicle and placed in handcuffs. Officers then move her to the backseat of the cruiser parked on the train tracks.
The officers walked away to search her truck, leaving Ms Rios-Gonzalez alone in the police vehicle. After searching her vehicle for a few minutes, police heard a horn blow in the distance and realised that a train was headed their way.
In the footage, an officer can be seen running to the cruiser. He stops to consider trying to move the car, but realises the train is coming in too fast for him to safely assist. A voice from another officer at the scene calls for him to "get back”.
Then the train enters the shot and smashes into the cruiser. Officers who witnessed the scene can be heard making frantic calls for medical assistance.
The train ultimately carried the cruiser dozens of feet before the car slid off the track and stopped in a field.
Paul Wilkinson, Ms Rios-Gonzalez's attorney, spoke with CNN and said his client saw the train coming before the police realised what was happening and began frantically trying to get their attention.
“When she was in the back of the car, she was able to see the train coming,” he said. “She was frantically trying to escape, trying to open the doors, but she was handcuffed.”
He said she tried to scream, but the officers did not realise what was happening until it was too late.
“I don’t know if they just couldn’t hear her or if they were too busy searching her car, but she saw it coming and prepared for the worst,” he said. “And as you can imagine, lost consciousness and woke up at the hospital. She’s obviously very upset.”
Ms Rios-Gonzales suffered nine broken ribs, a broken arm, broken teeth and injuries to her head.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation is examining the incident. Platteville Police Chief Carl Dwyer announced after the incident that the officer who parked on the tracks will remain on paid administrative leave until the CBI concludes its investigation.
