FOX31 Denver

Train hits police car, seriously injures detained woman

A Platteville Police Department vehicle was hit by a train, seriously hurting a suspect in the backseat. It happened at U.S. 85 and Weld County Road 36 on Sept. 16, 2022. (Credit: Larry Bases)

WELD COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — The Colorado Bureau of Investigation is investigating an incident where a woman suffered serious injuries while in police custody after a train hit the patrol car she was detained in.

Multiple agencies, including CBI, are investigating a critical incident after a woman detained by police suffered serious injuries near U.S. 85 and County Road 38 just north of Platteville. The incident happened on Friday just after 7:30 p.m.

According to CBI, it is believed that law enforcement received an initial call of an alleged road rage incident involving a firearm in Fort Lupton early Friday evening.

An officer with the Platteville Police Department located the vehicle and made a traffic stop on U.S. 85 and County Road 38. According to PPD, the driver of the vehicle pulled over and stopped just past the railroad tracks. The patrol car parked behind the vehicle and stopped on the tracks.

According to CBI, two Fort Lupton officers arrived on scene and the team of officers conducted a “high-risk traffic stop.” The officers detained a 20-year-old woman from Greeley who was the only occupant inside the vehicle.

The woman was placed in the back of the Platteville patrol car and detained on suspicion of felony menacing, according to CBI.

While officers continued their investigation and cleared the woman’s vehicle, a train traveling northbound struck the PPD patrol car.

CBI said the woman was transported to a Greeley hospital for treatment. Her condition is unknown.

Due to the details of the incident, multiple agencies are investigating. The Fort Lupton Police Department is handling the criminal investigation of the incident leading up to the initial call for police assistance. The Colorado State Patrol is investigating the serious-injury traffic accident that occurred between the train and the patrol car. CBI is investigating the serious injuries to the woman while in police custody.