Surveillance footage released Wednesday shows a Gwinnett County 2-year-old’s five-minute ride on Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport’s luggage belt.
The boy got onto the conveyor behind the Spirit Airlines check-in counter Monday afternoon and rode it into the Transportation Security Administration’s bag-screening room, the boy’s mother, Edith Vega, told Channel 2 Action News.
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Video shows the child struggling to get off the belt by climbing over a suitcase, but the conveyor moves too quickly, and the toddler is pushed into what appears to be a large X-ray machine by another bag.
According to an Atlanta police incident report, Vega set her son, Lorenzo, down near a kiosk so she could print her boarding pass. She looked up a moment later to see her son riding away.
“When I tried to go after him, it was at the end of the machine,” Vega said. “I couldn’t even catch up ... I wanted to jump in and try to go get him, but they didn’t allow me. I was just freaking out.”
The 2-year-old eventually pops out in the TSA bag room, surveillance shows, surprising a handful of airport employees who rush over to pull the child off the belt.
Authorities said Lorenzo fractured his right hand on the ride, but he’s expected to make a complete recovery.
Vega said she’s just glad her son is OK.
“I’m thankful he’s alive,” she told Channel 2. “That’s all that goes through my mind. I’m just grateful he’s here.”
The incident remains under investigation by the TSA and airport officials.
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