Colorado Officials Settle for $8.5m With Injured Woman

Colorado Officials Settle for $8.5m With Injured Woman

Introduction

Local Colorado officials have reached an $8.5 million settlement with a woman who was injured in 2022 after being left handcuffed in a police SUV that was hit by a train.

The city of Fort Lupton and the town of Platteville agreed to the settlement, which will be split between the two municipalities and paid by their insurers, according to a statement from the Fort Lupton Police Department.

The woman, who was a suspect in a road rage incident, survived the September 2022 crash but sustained serious injuries, including nine broken ribs and a broken arm. The settlement was described as a voluntary agreement that acknowledges the severity of the situation and allows all parties to move forward.

The Fort Lupton police officer who placed the woman in the vehicle was found guilty of reckless endangerment and third-degree assault related to the crash. She was sentenced to 30 months of supervised probation and 100 hours of community service.

On the day of the incident, the officer assisted in a traffic stop where the victim, suspected of brandishing a gun at another driver, was detained. The victim was placed in the patrol car of a Platteville police officer, who had parked the vehicle on railroad tracks. Police body and dash camera footage captured the woman’s screams for help as a train approached and collided with the car.

During her trial, the officer argued that she failed to notice the location of the railroad tracks because she focused on the potential danger of the situation. She testified that her attention was divided between assessing the risk of approaching a suspect who might have a gun and her surroundings.