Owings Mills native Lenny. B Robinson was known by many names, including Baltimore Batman, Lamborghini Batman, LBR, and, more simply, Superhero.
Robinson, 51, who famously drove a black Lamborghini and dressed up as Batman to visit sick children in hospitals, was killed yesterday on Interstate 70 near Hagerstown when a vehicle struck his car that had engine trouble and was stopped “partially in the fast lane.” According to a Maryland State Police news release, he was checking the engine while standing in the eastbound fast lane, when his Batmobile was struck by a Toyota Camry and then hit Robinson.
Baltimore Batman first became famous with another car incident, when he was pulled over in Silver Spring in 2012 in his full superhero costume. The video of that traffic stop went viral, being shared by millions on Facebook and even getting a mention on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Of course, he became most known for his work of visiting children with cancer at hospitals all over Baltimore and D.C.
Families of patients and just general fans of Robinson have been taking to social media to express their grief.
While the crash itself is still being investigated, it’s clear that Robinson’s legacy will live on through all of the patients’ lives he touched. He probably said it best himself during a Q&A session with The Washington Post in 2012.
“I was at Mt. Washington Pediatric [Hospital] and there was a patient that just sat in a wheelchair and had no emotion until I came and then he moved his hands and his feet and his head and came to life,” Robinson said. “At the end of the day, I say to myself, ‘Did I make a difference?’ I hope the answer is always yes.”