Road rage suspect who was left inside cop car that was hit by freight train is awarded $8.5m after being left with traumatic brain injury

A road rage suspect who was left inside a cop car that was hit by a freight train has been awarded $8.5million after settling a lawsuit against Colorado police.

Yareni Rios-Gonzalez was left with a traumatic brain injury following the collision in September 2022.

Horrifying video shows the moment the then 20-year-old was struck as the train barreled over a railroad crossing in Platteville where cops had parked their car.

The mom had been pulled over in connection with an alleged road rage incident involving a gun and was cuffed in the back seat at the time.

She suffered several broken bones and a traumatic brain injury, her attorney told Colorado Public Radio.

Road rage suspect Yareni Rios-Gonzalez (pictured left with family) who was left inside a cop car that was hit by a freight train has been awarded $8.5 million dollars after settling a lawsuit against Colorado police.

 Now she has been awarded the multi-million dollar settlement with the Platteville and Fort Lupton police departments, as well as the two officers responsible who were also criminally charged.

'This is an excellent result and a hard-fought result,' Attorney Paul Wilkinson said. 'She is up and moving around. 

'She is still recovering from some physical and emotional impacts that she'll be dealing with for the rest of her life. But considering she got hit by a train, she's doing all right.'

Platteville police Sgt. Pablo Vasquez and Fort Lupton Police Officer Jordan Steinke were convicted of reckless endangerment over the incident but avoided jail

Platteville police Sgt. Pablo Vasquez and Fort Lupton Police Officer Jordan Steinke were both fired from their jobs and faced criminal prosecution.

Vasquez was sentenced to 12 months of unsupervised probation after pleading guilty to reckless endangerment.

Steinke was convicted of the same charge plus a misdemeanor assault and handed 30 months of supervised probation and 100 hours community service.

Rios-Gonzalez had been suspected of waving a gun around during road rage incident.

 Upon seeing her white pickup truck, officers pulled her over at a railroad crossing.  

Rios-Gonzalez was ordered out of her vehicle at gunpoint and made to kneel while officers placed her in handcuffs.

Rios-Gonzalez was left with a traumatic brain injury following the collision in September 2022 

The mother-of-one survived despite suffering nine broken ribs, a broken arm, a fractured sternum and losing several teeth in the accident

Horrifying video shows the moment the then 20-year-old was struck as the train barreled over a railroad crossing in Platteville where cops had parked their car

She was then sat in the back of a police car while officers carried out various checks, seemingly oblivious to their precarious position.

More than five minutes later, the officers are seen chatting with the female suspect.

Suddenly the freight train's horn begins blaring and its lights become visible. 

Seconds later an officer can be heard shouting at his co-worker, 'move your car, stay back!' 

But there is no time to react before the train smashed into the police SUV, sending it hurtling down the tracks with Rios-Gonzalez seated inside. 

Dramatic photos taken afterwards show the mangled vehicle after the impact. 

Incredibly, the mother-of-one survived despite suffering nine broken ribs, a broken arm, a fractured sternum and losing several teeth in the accident.