Letter from Joseph Artino’s family:

Joseph Artino was killed tragically in a Union Pacific train accident two days after his 56th birthday on November 10, 2007. He left behind his wife, Donna, and nine children: Aaron, 30; Andrea, 29; Amber, 28; Joshua, 27; Christina, 17; Scooter (Joseph), 15 (who attends Peninsula, formerly Rolling Hills, High School); Rebecca, 11; Jacqui, 9; and Michael, 6; and one grandchild, Cayden. 

Joseph was an amazing husband, father, musician, electrician and train engineer. He stayed busy on the Hill and surrounding area with his electrical and sound business. He passed his musical and athletic abilities on to his children. We miss him so very much. His laughter and love of music lives on in us.
 
Best of luck on your reunion. May old friendships be rekindled and new ones formed.

Train Crash Kills Local

TORRANCE: Engineer Joseph Artino died in the desert doing what he loved, his wife says.

By Paul Clinton
Daily Breeze Staff Writer

For as long as his wife knew him, Joseph Artino loved trains.
So when Artino scaled back his electrical contracting business and took a job with Union Pacific in 1997, Donna Artino wasn’t surprised.
The 56-year-old Torrance resident was at the helm of a 60-car train carrying rock material from Victorville to Arizona on Saturday when it slammed into a second train near the Salton Sea.
Artino died doing what he loved, Mrs. Artino said.
“His passions were music, trains, kids, and his wife,” she said.
Both Artino, the engineer, and a conductor were killed in the accident shortly before 1 p.m. Saturday. Union Pacific spokesman James Barnes declined to identify the conductor.
The train crashed into a 111-car train parked on an eastbound track near Mecca, which is on the border of Riverside and Imperial counties.
The force of the crash caused three locomotives on the 60-car train and eight rail cars hauling cargo containers to derail, Barnes said.
One of the locomotives caught fire.
Barnes said the cause of the crash is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Railroad Administration, and Union Pacific.
Service has been restored to the line, he said.
Artino graduated from Rolling Hills High School in the late 1960s. He played clarinet in the marching band.
After working for the Torrance Unified School District, Artino set up his own electrical contracting business, Performance Electrical in Torrance.
He had moved to the city 16 years ago to start a new chapter in his life with his second wife, Donna.
His first marriage to Cathy had produced three children, and Donna Artino brought her son to the family.
Eventually Artino and his wife added five more children to the mix. The three youngest now attend Walteria Elementary School.
When Artino took a job at the railroad in 1997 as a brake man, he slowly phased out his electrical contracting work. If friends or family needed work, Artino pitched in, Mrs. Artino said.
Artino worked as a conductor and eventually an engineer, who manages the speed of the locomotive.
Working on an on-call basis like an airline pilot, Artino usually drove trains from Colton to Yuma, Ariz. and back.
“He was a great guy,” said Larry Sitter of Hermosa Beach who worked with Artino and had helped train him. “I thought the world of him. I would do anything for him and he for me.”
Artino is survived by nine children. Services will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Rolling Hills Covenant Church in Rolling Hills Estates.