VOORHEESVILLE — For the third time in less than two years, a car has been on the losing end of an encounter with a CSX freight train making its way through the village of Voorheesville. And for the third time, the driver escaped unharmed.

Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple posted on Saturday evening that his office had just responded “to a car versus train incident in Voorheesville.”

Apple, who did not respond to an Enterprise request for comment, wrote, “A vehicle attempted to execute a U-turn at an intersection and narrowly averted a fatality as the driver exited the vehicle in a timely manner.”

Apple wrote, “The train subsequently crushed the car for approximately three-quarters of a mile,” and that “the driver escaped unscathed.”

In August, sheriff’s deputies responded to Voorheesville’s Main Street crossing after an SUV was hit by a CSX train. The 16-year-old driver’s vehicle was struck by the train after she bypassed the crossing’s stop arms. Apple said at the time that the driver was in the car when it was struck, but emerged unharmed.

 The driver was cited for failing to stop at a railroad crossing, for driving  around the cross gate, and for disobeying a traffic control device.

In February of last year, nine sheriff’s deputies responded to a car being rammed through by a train. The driver of the car was not hurt but was arrested after his blood-alcohol level was found to be three times the legal limit. 

The CSX train in the February 2024 crash had a recorded speed of 37 miles per hour, according to an incident report filed with the Federal Railroad Administration, and was hauling 4,735 tons of goods, or 9,470,000 pounds.

The incident caused about $18,850 in track, signal, way, and structure damage, according to the FRA report.