NRC Members and friends,

I have some terrible news to pass on. Vinnie Vaccarello (NRC Board Member, Co-President of All Railroad Services Corp.) and Patsy Crisafi (NRC Safety Committee Member, Executive Vice President of Roadway Worker Training, Inc.) were killed in a small plane crash near the Gary, Indiana airport last week, on Wednesday, October 3.

The plane was a 4 seat Cirrus SR-22, which was owned by Patsy through his company Gandy Air LLC. Patsy and Vinnie were the only two people on board. The plane left from Northeast Florida Regional Airport in St. Augustine on Tuesday night October 2 for Smyrna, TN, then took off from Smyrna, TN at 9:25am Wednesday morning October 3 en route for Gary, but crashed at 11:18am about 2 miles southeast of the Gary airport. There is no official information yet about what happened to cause the plane to crash and investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are working the case, but multiple witnesses reported that they heard either a small explosion or some sort of engine failure on the plane while it was still in the air. It may never be precisely known, but as there was likely a catastrophic failure of the plane while it was still in the air and there is a school (the West Gary Lighthouse Charter School) in the flight path that had 495 children between kindergarten and 7th grade in session at the time, the pilot's final action may have been to heroically steer the plane just southwest of the school into the wooded area of Brunswick Park. Nobody else was injured during the crash.

For all of you who were friends and colleagues of Vinnie and Patsy, you have my deepest condolences. For everyone, please keep Vinnie's and Patsy's family and friends in your thoughts and prayers.

Below is some information on viewings, funeral arrangements, and contact info:

Vinnie Vaccarello

Viewing:

Friday, October 12 at the Hardage-Giddens Funeral Home (http://www.hgmandarin.com, 904-260-6735)

11801 San Jose Blvd.

Jacksonville, FL 32223

2pm-4pm  and 6pm-8pm

Church Services:

Saturday, October 13, 11am

San Juan Del Rio Catholic Church

1718 State Road 13 North

Saint Johns, FL 32259

Family and friends will be received after the services at:

Ramada Inn (www.jaxramada.com, 904-268-8080)

3130 Hartley Road

Jacksonville, FL 32257

Vinnie co-founded ARS in 2006, and had lead responsibility for securing contracts for the firm, making strategic decisions, and driving growth. Since launching in Jacksonville, the company has expanded to locations in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and has more than 130 employees. Prior to forming ARS, Vinnie served as VP of Operations for Balfour Beatty Rail in Jacksonville. Previously, he managed All Vegetation Services Inc. Before moving to Jacksonville, Vinnie worked in Pittsburgh as Corporate Auditor and Project Manager for Westinghouse Electric and as Director of Railroad Services Division for EME & ETS. Vinnie had a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Duquesne University and an MBA from the Davis College of Business at Jacksonville University. Vinnie was 48 years old.

Vinnie's business partner and his Co-President of ARS Corp, Mike Heridia, can be reached at:

All Railroad Services Corp

159 Hampton Point Drive, Suite #3

Saint Augustine, FL 32092

Phone:  904-296-3434

mheridia@arscorp.com

www.arscorp.org

ARS's Executive Assistant/Office Manager Jill Sutton can be reached at 904-296-3434 or jsutton@arscorp.com.  

In lieu of flowers, Vinnie's family suggests memorial contributions be made to San Juan Del Rio Catholic Church Building Fund. The check would payable to San Juan Del Rio, mail to 1718 State Road 13 North, Saint Johns, FL 32259, memo line: Building Fund, in memory of Vinnie Vaccarello.

Patsy Crisafi

Viewing: 

Brooks Funeral Home (www.brooksfuneralhomes.com, 724-628-1430)

111 E Green St.

Connellsville, PA 15425 

Wednesday, October 10, 7pm-9pm

Thursday, October 11, 2pm-4pm  and 7pm-9pm 

Church Services:   

Brooks Funeral Home (www.brooksfuneralhomes.com, 724-628-1430)

111 E Green St.

Connellsville, PA 15425 

Friday October 12, 9:30am 

Followed by a Mass at 10am

St. Rita's Catholic Church

116 South 2nd Street

Connellsville, PA 15425 

(724) 628-6840

Burial at St. Rita's will follow the Mass.

Patsy began his career in the rail industry in 1982 with Chessie System, the forerunner to CSX. Prior to leaving in 2000, he held several positions of increasing responsibility within the Engineering department. Among his accomplishments, he worked in the Operations Center and on various rules committees that developed and implemented both Operating and Safety rule books and training programs which comply with FRA regulations. In 2000, Patsy went to work for Utilco Railroad Services as Executive Vice President for 2 years. He left Utilco to co-found three companies: Roadway Worker Training, Railroad Protective Services and Roadway Worker Contracting. Patsy specialized in FRA Track Safety Standards (49 CFR Part 213) and FRA Roadway Worker Protection (49 CFR Part 214) training as well as in the various railroad operating rules. Patsy's relentless focus on safety around the railroad likely has prevented dozens of injuries and deaths over the last 30 years. Patsy was 45 years old.

Patsy's company Roadway Worker Training Inc can be reached online via https://www.rrtrainers.com, (904) 296- 8088, or general@rrtrainers.com.

Florida Times-Union obituary: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/timesunion/obituary.aspx?pid=160329484  

Florida Times-Union guestbook: http://www.legacy.com/guestbooks/timesunion/guestbook.aspx?n=patsy-crisafi&pid=160329484

Brooks Funeral Home obituary: http://www.brooksfuneralhomes.com/FuneralNoticeDisplay.asp?Name=Patsy%20John%20Crisafi

 Brooks Funeral Home guestbook: http://www.brooksfuneralhomes.com/FamilyNote.html

In lieu of flowers, Patsy's family suggests memorial contributions be made to St. Rita's Cemetery Care Fund (check payable to St. Rita' Cemetery, mail to 116 South 2nd Street, Connellsville, PA 15425, memo line: in memory of Patsy John Crisafi), the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA, www.aspca.org), the Humane Society of the United States (www.humanesociety.org), or the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (www.bbbs.org) in memory of Patsy John Crisafi.

Chuck Baker

President

National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association (NRC)

Phone: 202.715.2920

500 New Jersey Ave NW, Suite 400

Washington, DC 20001 

http://www.nrcma.org