An 11-year-old boy with autism from Valley Stream, Long Island, made it all the way to a TSA security line at JFK Airport on his own after booking an Uber without his parents' knowledge.
According to Long Island News 12, Port Authority police found Jamel Josiah Johnson, who had just completed fifth grade, standing in the security queue at Terminal 1 at around 6:30 a.m. on Monday, June 28. The boy did not have a flight ticket and was stopped there.
Ring doorbell footage captured Jamel leaving the family home at 5:54 a.m., dragging a suitcase and entering a rideshare SUV. On the recording, Jamel can be heard greeting the driver. His parents were asleep upstairs and woke after 6:00 a.m. to find him gone, per PIX11.
When his father, Jamel Johnson Sr., noticed his own phone was missing and called it from his wife's device, Port Authority police picked up. They had already found the boy. Johnson Sr and his wife, Tenesha Johnson, also looked at the surveillance and were shocked that the driver would leave with the minor without their permission.
Airport staff found Jamel wandering the terminal unaccompanied and alerted Port Authority Police, according to People. Officers brought him to their command post, where EMS evaluated him and cleared him. His father later picked him up.
When asked where he was trying to go, Jamel insisted that he wanted to go to Fukuyama, Japan, out of curiosity per PIX 11.
The family was charged $47 for the trip. Uber told PIX11 the company is "disturbed" by what happened and has been in contact with the Johnsons. Uber's stated policy requires account holders to be 18 or older, and drivers are expected to cancel rides with unaccompanied minors who do not hold a teen account.
“I just want Uber to be more responsible,” Mr Johnson said, adding, “and make sure drivers are aware that you should never pull out without an adult.”
