Arcade Worker Dies After Filling Claw Machine With Plush Toys

A family and community is in mourning today after Robert Clyde Rink of Glendale California died doing what he loved most: working in an arcade.

Witnesses said Robert was leaning over inside a claw machine filling it with various plush toys when suddenly the claw started moving.

“He didn’t have a chance,” explains patron Diego Montenegro, a weekend dad who was visiting the arcade with his son and daughter.  “The claw came down and started squeezing him from behind the neck. The worker reached behind his head and tried to open the claw but it was no use.  He didn’t have the strength to open it.”

Investigators told the Gaming Free Press that they were uncertain what caused the claw to move, or why it suddenly had a vice grip.  Traditionally claw games are intentionally weak to ensure most players will not win, but will sometimes randomly grip toys hard enough to allow a toy to be picked up.