Federal investigators arrive as police identify man killed by train in Southie

Federal investigators have joined the MBTA’s Transit Police to probe how a man was dragged to his death after apparently becoming trapped in a Red Line train door.

“The NTSB is leading a comprehensive investigation into the cause of the incident,” an MBTA spokesperson said Monday.

A spokesperson for the National Transportation Safety Board said that investigators were dispatched to Southie’s Broadway station early in the morning, but that further information wouldn’t be available at this stage of the investigation.

MBTA Transit Police Superintendent Richard Sullivan identified the victim late Monday as Robinson Lalin, 39, of Boston.

According to a spokesperson for the Suffolk DA’s Office, Lalin became stuck in the door of an inbound Red Line train around 12:30 a.m. The train dragged the man by his arm into the tunnel.

The driver of the train has been relieved of duty.

“The operator of the Red Line train, who was hired in 2018, will remain off duty while the investigation advances,” the spokesperson said via email.

Officials have not indicated how the train doors were able to close once Lalin was trapped.

A rule issued in 2016 by the Federal Railroad Administration, a wing of the Department of Transportation, required new trains to have obstruction detection systems installed on exterior doors and “requiring railroads to develop operating rules on how to safely operate the exterior side doors of a passenger train with incompatible exterior side door safety systems.”

These systems are supposed to alert the train operator if a door has failed to close and are supposed to require a manual override before the train can move, according to the rules issued by the FRA.

The MBTA’s trains are equipped with such equipment, otherwise known as “sensitive edges,” according to a spokesperson.

The spokesperson said Monday that the investigation would include a look at the train’s maintenance schedule, but did not say if any malfunction with the door was suspected.

“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. The NTSB is investigating,” the spokesperson said.

This is not the first time a person has become stuck in an MBTA train.

A Florida woman settled with the transportation agency in 2018 after her hand became stuck in a train and she was dragged some distance.

The NTSB is an independent federal agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigations.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/k0E8tyn