'Batman' Impersonator Who Cheered Up Sick Kids Killed In Car Accident

Sad news, the caped crusader, "Batman," passed away in a car accident in a speedway.

The Associated Press reports that Batman impersonator, Leonard "Lenny" B. Robinson, of Maryland, died in a car accident involving his troubled batmobile replica and a Toyota Camry.

The 51-year-old resident of Owings Mills was on his way home from a weekend festival in South Charleston, W.Va. He was in Interstate 70 when his car's engine broke down and had to stop. Robinson pulled over, and stopped in the median, with the car's passenger side partly in the fast lane. 

According to the Washington Post, a car that belonged to people, who he just met in a gas station parked behind him, turned their emergency lights on. Then, suddenly, just a few moments later at around 10:30 pm, a Camry slammed into his car and propelled its steel frame into his body. The incident happened Sunday near the unincorporated community of Big Pool, about 90 miles west of Baltimore. 

"Batman" Robinson died at the scene.

The incident is under investigation. The Camry's driver, a 39-year-old man from Charlottesville, Virginia, wasn't hurt and also hasn't been charged.

Robinson's family and friends gathered Monday at his parents' home in Owings Mills.

Though he was divorced, Robinson is reported to be driving every weekend to pick up his sons from where they live in New Jersey, to bring them to his home outside Baltimore.

"He was my brother, my business partner, my best friend," brother Scott Robinson said. "He touched a lot of lives and made a lot of kids smile. That's all he wanted to do."

According to his website, superheroesforkids.org, Robinson is a self-made businessman through a recently sold cleaning business that he started when he was still a teenager. He has been visiting hospitalized children since 2001. 

He chose to wear the Batman costume because one of his sons, Brandon, was obsessed with the character.

His first rise to national attention happened in 2012 when a video was shown in public: A black Lamborghini was pulled over for license plates — the batman symbol — and the driver was, of course, Batman dressed up in full costume.

The Washington Post reports in 2012 that Robinson paid $5000 for the heavy costume that he uses to bring smiles on kids' faces. He also spends $25,000 a year for Batman memorabilia, the things he hands out to kids that he visits in different hospitals.

"Batman is the only superhero that doesn't have superpowers," Robinson said. "He's naturally a superhero. Kids can relate to me a lot better."

Robinson's funeral will be at noon Wednesday in Owings Mills, Md.