BOSTON (WHDH) - The operator of a Red Line train that caused the April death of a passenger whose arm got stuck in the door has been placed on unpaid leave, according to an MBTA spokesperson.
The change, first reported in the Boston Globe, happened Monday. The driver had previously been placed on paid leave after Robinson Lalin, 39, died when his arm was caught in a train’s door and he was dragged alongside the train. The employee, hired in 2018, was placed on leave pending an investigation into the incident.
As 7NEWS previously reported, emergency crews responded to reports of a person dragged into the tunnel at Broadway Station around 12:30 a.m. that day and were told a passenger was caught in the doorway of an inbound train, the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office said.
The man, who authorities identified as 39-year-old Robinson Lalin, died after being dragged a short distance.
“His arm got stuck. The door didn’t open so he ended up being dragged to the end of the platform where his arm was detached. His body smashed against the wall breaking all his bones,” said Lalin’s nephew Kelvin Lalin. “It’s just devastating, honestly.”
That death prompted a federal investigation into the MBTA’s safety. The investigation slammed the “unacceptable” safety issues at the MBTA and recommended several immediate actions to get the T back on track.
“The combination of inadequate procedures and staffing and a safety culture where others look away when individuals do not follow basic safety rules create circumstances that result in unacceptable and entirely unavoidable incidents,” said FTA spokesman Paul Kincaid. “We’ll be ordering both the MBTA and the DPU to address these critical safety issues immediately.”
This is a developing story. Stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for updates.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)