Batman impersonator known for charity work dies on roadway

Lenny B. Robinson was driving his “Batmobile” – a custom Lamborghini – on a Maryland motorway when it broke down on Sunday night. Robinson had pulled vehicle over into a median, and a family he had met at a gas station he recently stopped at turned on its emergency lights behind him.

True to form, he gave them some superhero memorabilia before leaving around the same time as the family.

At about 10:30 p.m. a Toyota Camry hit the back of the Lamborghini, causing the auto to hit Robinson. “A visit from a superhero is sort of like a fantasy in the middle of all this hard-core therapy”. The boy grew up, but the role grew on Robinson, who became known variously as the Route 29 Batman, Beltway Batman and Baltimore Batman. The autographs he signed for hundreds of sick children on those occasions did not read “Larry Robinson”, but “Batman”. Video of his encounter with police, who had pulled him over because of a problem with his plates, emblazoned with the Batman symbol, made him an instant sensation on the Web. The Camry driver, a 39-year-old man, wasn’t hurt and hasn’t been charged.

The crash is under investigation and no charges have been filed.

Three years ago, the Maryland resident was pulled over by the police just outside of Washington, D.C., on his way to another hospital visit. “They’re fighting for their lives every single day”, Robinson said about the sick children he visited, according to CNN. Even so, he STILL sent out packages, goodies, and comics to people on any occasion I told him of people going through hardships.

– Batman, played by Lenny B. Robinson, greets Pierre Williams of Sheraden (left) and Tyler Schivins of Shaler while visiting patients in Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC on Wednesday, September 26, 2012.

The man behind the mask had made a fortune after selling a cleaning business he started as a teenager, and decided to use the money for good.