In one of the most horrifying examples of police negligence caught on camera, a Colorado woman was left handcuffed inside a patrol vehicle parked on railroad tracks moments before a freight train slammed into it.
The September 16, 2022 incident involved Fort Lupton Police Department officer Ryan Thomeczek, former Fort Lupton Police Department officer Jordan Steinke, and former Platteville Police Sgt. Pablo Cesar Vazquez. The woman trapped in the patrol car, Yareni Rios-Gonzalez, survived but suffered severe injuries.
According to Associated Press reporting, Rios-Gonzalez was stopped after a reported road-rage incident. Vazquez parked his patrol vehicle on the railroad tracks. Steinke, then with the Fort Lupton Police Department, placed Rios-Gonzalez in the back of Vazquez’s patrol car while she was handcuffed. Thomeczek also arrived to assist at the scene.
The danger was not theoretical. The patrol car was sitting on active tracks. A train was coming. Rios-Gonzalez was locked inside.
Body-camera and dash-camera footage later showed the terrifying moments before impact. According to Denver7, video showed officers had stopped near U.S. 85 and Weld County Road 36, and one police vehicle was stopped directly on the train tracks. As officers searched Rios-Gonzalez’s vehicle, the train struck the police SUV with her still inside.
Rios-Gonzalez suffered devastating injuries. Colorado Public Radio reported that she suffered a traumatic brain injury and numerous broken bones.
Jordan Steinke: Convicted, Fired, and Sentenced to Probation
Former Fort Lupton officer Jordan Steinke was criminally charged for her role in placing Rios-Gonzalez into the patrol car. A judge later found Steinke guilty of misdemeanor reckless endangerment and third-degree assault, while acquitting her of attempted reckless manslaughter. ABC News reported that the court found Steinke disregarded what she consciously observed, including the tracks and railroad signs.
Steinke was sentenced to 30 months of supervised probation and 100 hours of community service. KUNC reported that she was fired from the Fort Lupton Police Department after her conviction and was expected to lose her Colorado peace officer certification.
Pablo Cesar Vazquez: Parked on the Tracks, Pleaded Guilty
Former Platteville Police Sgt. Pablo Cesar Vazquez was the officer who parked the patrol vehicle on the railroad tracks. He later pleaded guilty to one count of reckless endangerment.
CBS Colorado reported that Vazquez entered a plea deal for 12 months of unsupervised deferred judgment and sentence. Colorado Public Radio reported that if he stayed out of trouble during that period, the misdemeanor charge would be dismissed and the case sealed.
That result raised obvious accountability concerns. The officer who parked a patrol car on active railroad tracks with a handcuffed person later trapped inside received probation, not jail.
Ryan Thomeczek: Sued, But Not Criminally Charged
Fort Lupton officer Ryan Thomeczek was also named in Rios-Gonzalez’s civil lawsuit. The lawsuit accused him of failing to prevent Rios-Gonzalez from being placed in danger and failing to help her escape when the train approached. However, according to the Associated Press, Thomeczek was not criminally charged.
That distinction matters. Steinke and Vazquez faced criminal consequences. Thomeczek did not. But all three officers were part of the civil case that eventually produced a major settlement.
The $8.5 Million Settlement
In June 2024, Rios-Gonzalez reached an $8.5 million settlement with the municipalities involved. According to the Associated Press, the City of Fort Lupton and the Town of Platteville agreed to split the settlement, with each paying half through insurance coverage.
The money cannot undo the trauma of being handcuffed, helpless, and left in the path of a freight train. But the settlement stands as a public admission of how catastrophic this failure was.
Accountability, But Only Partly
This case is not just about one bad decision. It is about a chain of failures. A patrol car was parked on active railroad tracks. A handcuffed woman was locked inside. Officers failed to recognize or respond to the danger in time. A train hit the vehicle. The woman inside survived by luck, not by police competence.
Steinke was convicted. Vazquez pleaded guilty. Thomeczek was not charged. Rios-Gonzalez received a multimillion-dollar settlement. But the public is still left with a hard question: how many safeguards failed before a handcuffed person in police custody was almost killed by a train?
Police officers routinely demand compliance, awareness, and accountability from the public. This case shows what happens when officers themselves fail at the most basic duty of custody: do not place a restrained person in a position where they cannot escape death.
