Former Colorado officer who put handcuffed woman in car hit by train avoids jail time

A former Colorado police officer who placed a handcuffed woman in the back of a police car parked on train tracks before a locomotive crashed into it will avoid jail time, a judge decided.

The woman under arrest, Yareni Rios-Gonzalez, survived but was seriously injured when a high-speed train plowed into the car last year. The officer who put her there, Jordan Steinke, was sentenced Friday to 30 months of supervised probation and 100 hours of community service.

Steinke, who worked for the Fort Lupton Police Department at the time of the crash, was found guilty earlier this summer of reckless endangerment and assault – both misdemeanors – but acquitted of a third charge, felony attempt to commit manslaughter.

Weld County District Court Judge Timothy Kerns said he was planning on giving Steinke jail time but settled on the sentence after prosecutors and defense attorneys said they sought probation for her, The Denver Post reported. He said if Steinke breaks the terms of her probation, he'll revisit the sentence.

"Someone is going to hear this and say: ‘Another officer gets off,’” Kerns said. “That’s not the facts of this case.”

Another officer, Pablo Vazquez of the Platteville Police Department, still faces trial for reckless endangerment and traffic charges for parking his car on the tracks.

Steinke was fired after her conviction and is expected to lose her Peace Officer Standards and Training certification, her attorney Mallory Revel said, according to The Denver Post, meaning she can never be a police officer again.

Revel declined to comment when reached by USA TODAY on Tuesday.

Rios-Gonzalez respects the sentence and said she never wants to see something like this happen to another person, her attorney, Chris Ponce, told USA TODAY in a statement.

She "does not want to see Ms. Steinke’s life ruined, but believes it is a good thing that she will never be a police officer again," Ponce said.

Video showed moment train plowed into car with woman inside

Body and dash camera footage released after the Sept. 16, 2022, crash show 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 are both visible in the video.

Rios-Gonzalez was in the car for about two minutes when the sound of a blaring train horn can 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 last year.

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, police said at the time. She later pleaded no contest to misdemeanor menacing, her attorney said. 

Officer said she didn't 'perceive' tracks, apologizes to woman

During trial, Steinke and her defense team said she did not intend to cause harm to Rios-Gonzalez. She wasn't aware the car was parked on the tracks, she said, though the tracks are visible in body camera video.

"I am sure I saw the tracks ... but I did not perceive them," Steinke said when pressed by prosecutors earlier this year, adding that she was focused on the potential for gunfire to break out during the arrest.

Steinke apologized to Rios-Gonzalez ahead of her sentencing.

"What happened that night has haunted me for 364 days," Steinke said. "I remember your cries and your screams."”"

Woman will be affected by injuries for life

Rios-Gonzalez suffered serious injuries that she will be recovering from her whole life, her attorneys said, including a head injury.

Ponce told USA TODAY earlier this year that she is "inundated" with medical appointments and will likely never fully recover "physically or emotionally or cognitively."

"Ms. Rios-Gonzalez suffers with daily pain from the collision," Ponce said Tuesday.

Rios-Gonzalez has also filed a civil lawsuit against the Platteville and Fort Lupton police departments, court records show.

Contributing: The Associated Press