By Jason Scheer
On July 13 at about 3 p.m., Joseph Vetrano was struck by a Long Island Rail Road equipment train traveling westbound at about 60 mph. According to people at the scene, Vetrano, though seriously injured, was still alive when he was transported to Franklin General Hospital in Valley Stream. He was pronounced dead, however, at 4:15 p.m.
Jan Vetrano, his daughter, said her father probably thought the train was going to stop at the Malverne Station and walked under a lowered gate. "I guess he thought the train was going to stop," she said, fighting back tears. "But it wasn't going to stop."
Jan Vetrano said that the night before had been one of the happiest her father had experienced in years, surrounded by generations of loving family members. "We had a big family dinner," she said. "Everyone was here, and it was just such a perfect night."
At the dinner was Joseph Vetrano's beloved 9-month-old great-granddaughter, Mia. Mia had been a source of renewed inspiration and happiness for Joseph, who lost his wife, Kathleen, a decade ago.
"These last eight months have been the happiest for him with this little baby," Jan Vetrano said. "He has just enjoyed so much being around the baby and watching her grow up.
"The one thing he always said was that he couldn't wait for Mia to say 'Poppy,¹ but obviously she didn't say it yet."
This isn't the first tragedy in the Vetrano family. Vetrano's son, Jerry, was killed during the Vietnam War. "He was the apple of my father¹s eye," Jan Vetrano said of her brother.
As a result, Joseph Vetrano was particularly close to his first grandson, Chris Szachacz. "He was always a little bit extra close to me," Szachacz said. "He would have done anything for me. Anytime I needed anything, even if he didn't want to. He would always put me first."
Putting family first was the credo by which Joseph Vetrano lived his life. In January, he moved from Lynbrook to Malverne in order to be closer to them. "He was just a great family man,² Jan Vetrano said. ³His whole life was his children and his grandchildren. He always thought about us before he thought about himself."
Vetrano leaves behind another daughter, Christine, and granddaughters Courtney and Meaghan.
In lieu of flowers, the Vetrano family would like donations to be made to the Malverne Volunteer Ambulance Corps.
The incident marks the second time this year that a Malverne resident was struck and killed by a train. Rosemary Tomasulo walked around flashing gates on Jan. 23 at about 10 a.m. and, because of a heavy snowfall, apparently did not see the approaching eastbound train, which was unable to stop.
Comments about this story? JScheer@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 282.
