The NTSB said the T “immediately initiated a fleet inspection for the identified failure on other cars to prevent a recurrence. The MBTA reported that no other similar faults were found during the inspection.”
Lalin, according to the report, was trying to get off the train at the time and was eventually dragged “105 feet to the surface below, near the tracks.”
The report says surveillance video reviewed by the NTSB showed Lalin attempting to disembark from the six-car train around 12:30 a.m. through a passenger side door of the car, as the doors were closing. Footage showed Lalin’s right arm getting caught in the door during her “attempt to get out,” according to the report.
Lalin’s nephew, Kelvin Lalin, 30, of Everett, said in a phone interview Monday that the report was “heartbreaking” and “disgusting” for his family to read.
“The MBTA killed my uncle,” said Kelvin Lalin, stating that his uncle’s death was the result of “direct negligence” on the part of the agency.
“I don’t know what’s going on with the MBTA, where the money is going,” Kelvin said. “We have these so-called new trains,” but the older trains are still in use. “It’s a slap in the face for me. … All the family has is a cremated family member who was basically cut to pieces.”
In a separate statement, the MBTA said Monday that it “would once again like to express its deepest condolences to the Lalin family regarding this heartbreaking incident.”
The T added that “immediately after” Robinson Lalin’s death, “door systems across the Red Line fleet were tested for this specific issue, and MBTA staff found all components to function as designed and did not identify any additional instances of the circuitry problem that incident car experienced.
The problem was not detected in any of the other Red Line cars of the same make and model during “rigorous testing,” the T said. The agency has previously said the train involved in Robinson Lalin’s death entered service in 1969 or 1970.
The release says that T personnel who perform regularly scheduled preventative maintenance on the fleet are supplementing existing door inspection protocols with additional testing to prevent a repeat of the April tragedy.
“The MBTA emphasizes that investigations by the NTSB, Transit Police and the MBTA Department of Safety are ongoing, and if further steps to improve safety are warranted, then the MBTA will certainly take immediate and appropriate action.” said statement T. “The safety and well-being of all MBTA bicyclists are of the utmost importance.”
The T also said it has been working “aggressively” to improve safety as part of an “unprecedented” $8 billion investment in infrastructure and vehicles over the past five years. In addition, the T said, the agency nearly doubled the size of its Security Department in recent years, training “thousands of employees to help foster a culture where security is first.”
That was little consolation for Kelvin Lalin, who told the Globe on Monday that the T hadn’t apologized to his family, who buried his uncle over the weekend. Robinson Lalin was originally from Honduras and had two children, Kelvin Lalin previously told the Globe.
“We are really hurting and grieving for my uncle,” Kelvin Lalin said.
The NTSB said Monday that its team investigated train equipment at the scene of the tragedy.
“While on scene, NTSB investigators examined and tested train equipment, reviewed security footage, observed MBTA train operations, conducted interviews, and conducted sight distance observations,” the report says. “The NTSB investigation is ongoing. Future research activity will focus on MBTA passenger rail equipment and operating procedures.”
An NTSB spokesman said the agency would not comment beyond the preliminary report on Monday.
Spokesman Keith Holloway said by email that the report “would speak for itself and no further information will be available or interviews will be conducted at this time.”
A spokesman for the Suffolk District Attorney’s office, Kevin R. Hayden, which is also investigating the crash, declined to comment on the NTSB report Monday.
Stacy Thompson, executive director of the LivableStreets Alliance, a Cambridge-based transit advocacy group, said Monday that the report illustrates the dangers of underfunding T.
“I think there is a lot to learn from this moment,” Thompson said by email. “Illustrates the real and, in this case, incredibly tragic consequences of chronically underinvesting in the T.”
Josh Ostroff, interim director of Massachusetts Transportation, another advocacy group, said in a separate statement that safety on the T must be a top priority.
“Robinson Lalin’s tragic loss of life to a Red Line gate malfunction followed many other events leading to deaths and injuries,” Ostroff said. “We support the MBTA’s efforts to instill a culture of safety, but we’re also seeing the results of decades of under-investment as we rely on vehicles and systems that should have been replaced decades ago.”
Ostroff said that “the current level of capital investment may be unprecedented, but the deficiencies that the state seeks to correct are well known. Safe and reliable public transportation is critical to Massachusetts, and we urge state leaders to commit to the policies and investments necessary to achieve this goal.”
Material from previous Globe stories was used in this report.
Travis Andersen can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @TAGlobe.
Reference-www.bostonglobe.com