Red Line death probe continues
The family of a man killed by a Red Line train is still processing the horrifying death of their loved one as federal investigators work to figure out what led to the tragedy Sunday.
“It’s just sickening. I can’t get it through to me. I just can’t imagine the fear he was experiencing,” Robinson Lalin’s nephew, Kelvin Lalin told the Herald Tuesday.
Robinson Lalin, 39, of Boston, was killed early Sunday morning when an inbound Red Line train captured his arm and dragged him into the Broadway station tunnel, according to the Suffolk district attorney’s office.
Kelvin Lalin said that planning the funeral has been hard for his family, and that it’s difficult to talk about his uncle in the past tense or to speak of what happened to him.
“It’s just so hard to talk about who he was, when I want to be talking about who he is,” he said.
Robinson Lalin’s nephew said his uncle was the kind of man that made people feel better, that it was hard to be mad around him.
“He made you feel whole, his manner, his personality, overall was 100% genuine and just always mellow,” Kelvin Lalin said.
According to Kelvin Lalin, other passengers have reached out to explain what they saw and how they tried, to no avail, to free Robinson Lalin’s arm, and how they saw him torn apart and battered to death by the tunnel walls.
“People who were in the train trying to get his hand out of the door but the train was already on the go. People witnessed the man lose his hand,” Kelvin Lalin said.
“He suffered. Moments before he died, I just can’t imagine how scared he was,” he said.
The family will be forced to have a closed casket funeral, Kelvin Lalin said.
“He’s completely unrecognizable,” he said.
The National Traffic Safety Board said Tuesday its investigation continues.
“The investigators are still on scene and expect to complete the on-scene portion of the investigation in the next couple of days. They are examining the equipment and conducting interviews with the operators,” an NTSB spokesperson said.
Robinson Lalin leaves behind two children and a family that love him, and Kelvin Lalin said that it feels like a part of each of them died in the tunnel with his uncle.
“It’s like a part of us went in, is gone with him. He was so loved and adored by his family, his friends, the community, his kids. He was just an overall good guy, always smiling, stress free, like he had nothing to worry about — and he made you feel like that too,” Kelvin Lalin said.
Officials with the MBTA say that an incident occurred at Broadway Station around 12:30 a.m., that a man sustained fatal injuries, and that they are working with federal investigators. Officials have said the train’s maintenance history is being looked at.
The train operator, who not been identified, has been relieved of duty, the MBTA said.
The MBTA has not indicated if actions by the operator or mechanical failure is at fault but did indicate the train doors are equipped with sensitive edges meant to detect obstructions.
The family has established a GoFundMe to assist with funeral and other expenses.