**Trigger Warning: This article contains mentions of graphic violence**
Robinson Lalin, 39, of Boston, was killed after his arm became caught in a Red Line train door and he was dragged along through the subway tunnel. The train was departing from Broadway Station around 12:30 a.m. in the early morning hours of Sunday, April 10. Lalin died of the injuries he suffered while being dragged through the tunnel.
When The Boston Globe requested an interview with MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak regarding the fatal incident, the MBTA issued the following statement: “A comprehensive investigation into the events surrounding this incident is underway. As MBTA Transit Police detectives work to establish the facts, the investigation will include, but not be limited to, collecting statements from witnesses, reviewing any images captured by cameras, and examining vehicle maintenance and inspections records.”
Additionally, the National Transportation Safety Board is conducting an investigation. According to a spokesperson, the NTSB arrived at the scene on Monday, April 11.
Former chairman of the NTSB, Robert Sumwalt, told WBZ that if the problem were with the trains, it would be resolved quickly.
“The NTSB’s highest priority will be to make sure this is not a systemic issue,” said Sumwalt. “If there is a systemic issue found, they will act very quickly to make sure that this issue is corrected immediately.”
According to CBS Boston, Lalin rode the T daily, and his family is wondering how his tragic death occurred.
“I want to know,” said Lalin’s aunt, Neny Morales. “I want to find out what happened to Robinson. How can it be possible to die like that? When he put his hand [out], nobody saw that?”
The Boston Globe spoke with MBTA passengers waiting at Broadway Station the night after the incident.
“It’s extremely disheartening to hear that this is still happening,” said Ryan Ellegood, a student at Northeastern University. “The T, and public transportation in general, needs a whole overhaul. Transit infrastructure could be generally improved. We have a mayor right now who’s showing they’re starting to care about transit, which is fantastic, but improvement will need to come in the wake of that.”
“I feel like there’s always stories of stuff going wrong on the T,” said Coran Day of Jamaica Plain. “It seems like a budget and political problem, just whether money and time is being put towards this stuff or if it just gets put on the back burner.”
Day’s sentiment is echoed in the MBTA’s infamous track record of accidents as of late.
In September of 2021, a Red Line train with nearly 50 people on it derailed at Broadway Station. No injuries were reported.
Also in September of 2021, BU professor David Jones was found dead under a set of rusty stairs near the JFK/UMass T-stop. The stairs had been closed off for roughly 20 months at that point. They have since been removed.
A family from Louisiana sued the MBTA after an escalator at the Back Bay station malfunctioned, leaving them with extensive injuries. Several others were injured in the malfunction that also occurred in September of 2021.
In July of 2021, a Green Line train crashed into the train in front of it. 27 people, including three MBTA crew members, were sent to the hospital following that incident.