Former Arlington Martin football star struck and killed by train
Joe Lavilla looked “like a super hero,” and played football like one at Arlington Martin High School.
“He was one of those running backs who the offensive linemen played harder for,” Martin coach Bob Wager said. “They played harder because of who they were blocking for.”
Mr. Lavilla, 23, died Sunday morning after he was struck by a Union Pacific train in Benbrook. His name was released Tuesday by the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office.
His funeral is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at Lake Arlington Baptist Church.
It’s unclear why Mr. Lavilla was walking on the railroad tracks near the 5100 block of Vickery Loop East. When an eastbound train approached at about 8:15 a.m., he didn’t try to dodge it, “despite the bells and whistles,” a Union Pacific spokesman said.
“We don’t think he ever heard it coming,” said his father, Lou Lavilla.
Mr. Lavilla had recently moved to the Benbrook area while working full-time at Lou’s Fort Worth business, Vending Concepts.
He had moved back to Texas from Bible school in California in 2013. He transferred there from Texas A&M University, where he was on the Aggies’ 2010 football roster as a walk-on, Lou said.
His college playing career was short-lived, but he was a star at Martin. In 2009, his senior year, he was voted captain by his teammates, and was later named first-team all-district as a powerful fullback.
“He was born with muscles,” Lou said.
He was one of those running backs who the offensive linemen played harder for.”
Arlington Martin coach Bob Wager
Lately, Mr. Lavilla had become concerned with the homeless people living near the railroad tracks by his apartment, Lou Lavilla said. He was worried they’d go hungry.
In a Facebook video Sunday night, Mr. Lavilla’s brother, Christopher, said, “I knew he was struggling with stuff.”
“I knew this,” Christopher Lavilla said. “But he still carried himself in a way that spoke to my heart.”
Earlier in the video, Christopher said his brother “loved people for themselves, and he never told anybody to change.”
Wager, Martin's coach since 2006, heard the news of Mr. Lavilla’s death Sunday afternoon.
He was the first of three brothers to play for the Warriors.
Mr. Lavilla moved to Arlington from New Jersey before high school, Wager said, and embraced Texas’ “Friday Night Lights” as much as anyone.
“He played hard. I mean, really, really hard,” Wager said. “Every time he hit you, it was every ounce of punishment he could dish out. That was Joe Lavilla as a football player.”
Ryan Osborne: 817-390-7760, @RyanOsborneFWST
This story was originally published December 22, 2015 at 3:15 PM with the headline "Former Arlington Martin football star struck and killed by train."