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A man who delighted thousands of children by impersonating Batman at hospitals and charity events died when his custom-made Batmobile developed engine trouble and another car ploughed into it while Robinson was pulled over on a highway, police said.
Leonard B. Robinson, 51, of Maryland, was in front of the Batmobile when it was struck by a Toyota Camry at about 10.30pm Sunday west of Baltimore, police said.
Robinson had been returning from a weekend festival in West Virginia. Robinson had pulled his car onto the median, with the passenger side partly in the traffic lane, police said.
WATCH: Batman, aka Leonard Robinson,  gets pulled over by police

Police said the Camry sideswiped the red-and-black Batmobile, a replica of the car used in the 1960s “Batman” television show. The Camry driver, a 39-year-old man, wasn’t hurt and hasn’t been charged.
Police said Robinson’s car was uninsured and wore a license, “4BATMAN,” that was issued to another vehicle. It’s not known whether he was wearing his Batman costume at the time of the accident.
Robinson, co-owner of an appliance repair business in Virginia, began visiting hospitalised children in 2001, masquerading as his son’s favorite superhero, according to Robinson’s website, www.superheroesforkids.org .
He gained worldwide attention in 2012 when dashcam video surfaced of police in Maryland pulling him over while he was driving his black Lamborghini — not the Batmobile replica — dressed as Batman. Robinson traded the Lamborghini for the Batmobile later that year.
He averaged about 18 visits a year to hospitals, schools and charity events, handing out toys and t-shirts, giving “Batman” autographs and discouraging kids from bullying, according to his website and his father, Larry Robinson.
“To see these children, the smiles that come onto their faces — it was like a miracle for these children,” Larry Robinson said.

The Washington Post reported in 2012 that Robinson spent US$25,000 of his own money on Batman-related items for kids every year.
Sharen Sumpter-Deitz, a board member of the South Charleston, West Virginia, Convention and Visitors Bureau, said Robinson had left for home Sunday afternoon after meeting hundreds of children over the weekend at the city’s Summerfest, two daycare centers and a library. It was his third visit, she said.
“He made them feel like they were the most important person in the whole wide world when he was talking to them,” she said.
DC Entertainment, the Warner Bros Entertainment unit that owns Batman, said it was aware of Robinson’s work and had no objections. The company posted a message on the official Batman Facebook page: “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Leonard Robinson, who shared his love of Batman with everyone around him.”
 


Famed Batman impersonator is killed when car ploughs into Batmobile on side of highway

Leonard B. Robinson, 51, had been delighting children dressed as his favourite superhero since 2001. Photo: Facebook

Robinson traded in his black Lamborghini for this replica of the Batmobile. Photo: Facebook

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