After being stopped by Prattville police, Rios-Gonzalez stopped his car just beyond the tracks, and police body camera footage shows an officer park his patrol vehicle in the middle of the tracks and two Fort Lupton police officers rushing to assist him.
Rios-Gonzalez was then handcuffed and locked in her patrol car before the train sped toward it. She then sued the cities of Prattville and Fort Lupton and the three officers involved in the incident. The settlement will be paid by the cities’ insurance companies, an attorney for the two officers confirmed to The Washington Post.
Rios Gonzalez’s attorney, Paul Wilkinson, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday night. He told Colorado Public Radio the settlement was a “hard-fought victory.”
“She is still recovering from the physical and mental effects that she will have to live with for the rest of her life,” Wilkinson said of his client.
Prattville Police Chief Carl Dwyer apologized to Rios Gonzalez in a statement to The Washington Post on Wednesday. In his statement, he said the Prattville Police Department “remains committed to providing the best possible service to all who live, visit or travel in our community,” adding that the settlement is in the best interest of Prattville residents.
Fort Lupton Police Chief William Karns said in a news release Tuesday that the settlement was voluntary and “mutually satisfactory” to the parties involved, adding that the settlement “recognizes the seriousness of this matter and allows all parties to move forward.”
According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, on the night of the crash, officers from the Prattville Police Department pulled over Rios Gonzalez after receiving a report of a “road rage incident involving a firearm” earlier in the day. Two officers from Fort Lupton arrived to assist with what the bureau called a “high-risk traffic stop.”
Officers then handcuffed Rios-Gonzalez and locked her in a Prattville police vehicle. She can be heard on body camera footage asking what was going on. As officers searched Rios-Gonzalez’s vehicle, a whistle blew in the distance and officers found a gun in the center console, KTVZ reported.
Shortly thereafter, a train struck the car in which Rios Gonzalez was riding.
In body camera footage, the female officer can be heard screaming “Oh my god. Oh my god!” as the train hit the patrol car.
Rios Gonzalez suffered a traumatic brain injury, the Associated Press reported. Her lawyer told the AP that she later pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of menacing.
Two officers were charged in the incident and both were fired from their departments. Fort Lupton Officer Jordan Steinke, who trapped Rios-Gonzalez in his car, was convicted of assault and dangerous driving in July and sentenced to probation and community service in September. Prattville Officer Pablo Vazquez pleaded guilty to dangerous driving in December and was sentenced to one year of probation, The Associated Press reported.
Judge Steinke offered an emotional apology to Rios Gonzalez during his sentencing hearing in September.
“The events of that night haunt me,” she said, adding, “I remember your crying and your screams.”
