Real-Life 'Batman' Killed by His Batmobile

Lenny B. Robinson was a hero to the sick kids he visited
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 17, 2015 10:54 AM CDT
Real-Life 'Batman' Killed by His Batmobile
Lenny B. Robinson, aka Batman, poses with a Baltimore police officer.   (Facebook)

The world is down one hero: Lenny B. Robinson, the real-life Batman who made headlines after he was pulled over by police wearing a Batman costume and driving a black Lamborghini, has died in an accident involving his "batmobile." Robinson, of Maryland, had car trouble last night while returning home from a car show in West Virginia and exited his vehicle, stopped partially in the fast lane of 1-70, to check the engine, police say. NBC Washington reports a car struck Robinson, though the Washington Post reports the car hit his car, which then hit the 51-year-old.

Robinson didn't just impersonate Batman for fun. In a 2012 Post profile, the Baltimore County businessman explained he liked to visit children's hospitals in costume to brighten the lives of kids battling cancer and other diseases. He would bring them gifts, personally spending about $25,000 a year on Batman toys and memorabilia. "They all thought he was Batman, a hero," the Post reports. "It feels like I have a responsibility that's beyond a normal person," Robinson said in 2012. "And that responsibility is to be there for the kids, to be strong for them, and to make them smile as much as I can." (More Batman stories.)

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