Update on February train crash in Voorheesville Man not in vehicle when it was hit
VOORHEESVILLE – The police report for a train collision on February 28 where a 38-year-old man was not hurt, but charged with aggravated DWI after his car was in the path of a CSX freight train in the Village revealed new details this week. The driver was not in the car at the time of impact, but got back in the car after it was hit.
According to reports, the driver was attempting to turn onto Grove Street from North Main Street at approximately 8:21 p.m., but pulled onto the gravel area and the railroad tracks instead. The Honda Accord bottomed out and was stuck on the track and could not move.
When a train whistle was heard in the distance, a bystander went up to the car and convinced the man to leave the vehicle and wait a safe distance away. The train collided with the Honda, throwing it across the intersection and into the warning gate arm and pole. The vehicle was still running and hazard lights flashing when the crash occurred.
The police investigation determined that the man then returned to the car, got inside, with the motor still running. When police arrived, he was sitting in the driver’s seat. Officers interviewed the man and observed a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his breath. He also had a small abrasion on his right knee, but said he was not hurt and refused an EMS evaluation at the scene.
Officers also observed the man to have bloodshot and glassy eyes, thick slurred speech and impaired motor coordination. Because of inclement weather, with high winds and rain, the officers detained the operator and transported him to the Sheriff’s station in Clarksville. The man was given and failed field sobriety tests after he said he was not hurt or sustained a blow to the head in the accident.
At 9:45 p.m. he provided a breath sample, after refusing by conduct on two prior samples, which returned a .26 percent BAC. He was charged with aggravated DWI and ticketed for moving from a lane unsafely. The man was released with an appearance ticket for March 7.
A social media video of the incident is posted on this story at spotlightnews.com.
Warrant
DELMAR – A Cobleskill man was taken into custody in the City of Albany by Albany County Sheriff’s Deputies on Friday, March 22 and found he was wanted by Bethelhem police for a 2018 drug possession charge.
According to reports, Bethlehem police were called to Del Lanes on Delaware Avenue on November 21, 2021 for a report of a bowler using cocaine at the business. When officers arrived, they found a man with a large cut on his hand that needed immediate medical attention. That man said that Anthony Conti, 32, was waiting for him outside. Conti was in the backseat of a car and officers observed quantities of cocaine and heroin in plain view wedged between the seat and floor.
Conti was taken into custody and charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance. He was arraigned and Bethlehem Town Judge Andrew Kirby set bail at $1,500 cash/bond. He was scheduled back in court on December 18, 2018. Conti was arrested again as he was leaving the Rensselaer County jail on a bench warrant for not showing up for court. The report does not reflect the exact date. He was arraigned by Kirby and that time bail was set at $2,000.
On March 22, Kirby arraigned him for a third time and sent him to the Albany County jail in lieu of $2,000 bond.
No license and Warrant
SELKIRK – Bethlehem police observed a 2017 Chevy Malibu not stop at a sign at the intersection of Peel Street and Fairlane Drive and performed a traffic stop on Monday, March 25 at 7:50 a.m.
According to reports, the driver of the vehicle, Jonathan Pringle, 28, of Troy, identified himself with a driver’s permit, but the passenger in the vehicle did not have a valid license. Pringle also had an outstanding warrant from the City of Albany. He was issued traffic tickets and transported to meet officers from that department.
