An 11-year-old autistic boy from Long Island ordered an Uber on his father’s phone before sunrise Sunday, rode alone to JFK Airport, and made it to the TSA line before airport staff found him wandering the terminal by himself, according to Atlanta Black Star. The Port Authority Police Department reunited him with his parents. His family says Uber did not contact them until they tried to cancel the charge.
The boy, Jamel Josiah Johnson, who goes by his middle name Josiah, was picked up at 5:55 a.m. His family’s Ring camera captured him walking up to the car with a blue suitcase. “Hi. Are you the Uber?” he can be heard asking in the footage, before getting into the back seat.
His father, Jamel Johnson, noticed his phone was missing when he woke up and called it from his wife’s phone. Port Authority Police answered. “They were like, ‘An Uber dropped him off. He got into the TSA line,'” Johnson told WPIX.
Josiah told WPIX he wanted to go to Japan to see the city of Fukuyama. “I’m just curious about what’s out there in Japan,” he said. First responders confirmed he was not hurt.
His mother, Tenesha Johnson, described the moment she realized he was gone. “It was a feeling I wouldn’t want any other mother, father, brother, sister, aunt, uncle to ever experience,” she told News 12. “I didn’t know what was happening. I didn’t know where my son was.”
Both parents said the driver should not have let him in the car. “He doesn’t present as an adult. He looks like a kid. Why would you drive off?” Tenesha Johnson told WPIX.
Under Uber’s policies, account holders must be 18 or older to request a ride. Riders between 13 and 17 can use Uber Teen accounts, which require a parent or guardian to set up and include parental supervision features. Uber also instructs drivers to report riders who appear to be underage or who are not on a teen account.
Uber issued a statement to Atlanta Black Star. “This is deeply concerning,” a spokesperson said. “We are relieved the child was reunited with their family and have been in touch with them. We take reports of this nature seriously and have a dedicated team of safety agents available 24/7 to investigate and address incidents.” The company also told Atlanta Black Star it has a team of former law enforcement professionals on call globally to assist police with investigations.
The Johnson family told WPIX they only heard from an Uber safety agent after they attempted to cancel the $47.05 charge for Josiah’s ride.
Featured image: Photo Credit: YouTube screenshot/ NBC7)
