VOORHEESVILLE —  Nine sheriff’s deputies responded to the February incident of a car being rammed through by a train in Voorheesville, according to a report The Enterprise obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request. 

On Feb. 28, according to Albany County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Matuszek’s report, summarizing a video of the incident made by a bystander and posted to social media, “When a train horn was heard in the distance, a bystander went up and convinced” Kyle Jacobson of Voorheesville “to leave the motor vehicle and wait a safe distance away.” 
Jacobson’s red Honda Accord was subsequently hit by a CSX freight train, damaging his car, according to the report. Following the collision, Jacobson re-entered the damaged car, which was still running, and sat in the driver’s seat, where Matuszek found him upon arriving at the scene. 

Jacobson did not sustain injuries during the incident although Matuszek noted blood splotches on Jacobsen’s tan pants, which he found was caused by “a slight abrasion” on his left knee.

Jacobsen refused evaluation by emergency medical services, the report said.

He did not respond to an Enterprise request for comment. 

During an interview with Jacobson, Matuszek wrote he “detected the odor of alcoholic beverage emanating from the operator’s breath.

The report states Jacobson was traveling along North Main Street and attempted to take a left onto Grove Street, but his vehicle “unsafely left the roadway and bottomed out on the train tracks in the gravel area and was unable to move.”

A CSX freight train, the report states, then struck Jacobson’s car on the front passenger side.

Matuszek wrote after further interview with Jacobson, he noted Jacobson exhibited signs of intoxication, including bloodshot and glassy eyes, slurred speech, and poor motor skills. The adverse weather conditions, according to the deputy, characterized by strong winds and heavy rain, necessitated Jacobson’s detention.

Matuszek, upon arriving at the sheriff’s Verda Avenue station in Clarksville, conducted a test to assess Jacobson’s sobriety. He asked Jacobson if he’d hit his head during the crash, to which he responded no. 

Matuszek then wrote, following the standardized field sobriety test, he  “observed 6 of 6 clues for Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus,” ​​the bouncing or involuntary jerking of the eye, which becomes more pronounced when impaired by alcohol. 

 Matuszek’s report states his observations “indicated the presence of several signs of impairment,” and that Jacobson then declined two further sobriety tests,” which resulted in his arrest, at 9:08 p.m.

At 9:11 p.m., Jacobson was read his Miranda rights but did not request to speak with a lawyer, according to the report. 

During subsequent breathalyzer testing, Jacobson sought to game the results by “covering the tube with [his] tongue,” which would have caused “an inadequate sample,” according to the report. 

At 9:45 p.m., Jacobson “submitted to a chemical test,” the report states, which showed he had a blood-alcohol level of .26 percent, more than three times the legal limit of .08 BAC. 

Jacobsen had no prior arrests for driving while intoxicated, the report said, and was charged with aggravated DWI after the incident because his blood-alcohol content exceeded .18 of 1 percent.

He was also charged with first-offense DWI, moving from a lane unsafely, and first-offense operating a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol content of .08 of 1 percent or more.