Toddler injured after taking wild ride on conveyor belt at Atlanta airport
A child was injured after he took a wild ride down a conveyor belt at an Atlanta airport earlier this week, CBS affiliate WGCL-TV reports. Surveillance video released by Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport shows the boy climbing onto the bag belt before being found by employees.
The child's mother, Edith Vega, told police she was printing boarding passes at the Spirit Airlines kiosk Monday afternoon when her son Lorenzo slipped away, WGCL reported. Airline ticket agent Jaqueze Hudson said he was helping another passenger when Vega ran up to the ticket counter and told him her son may have jumped onto the bag conveyor belt.
Authorities determined the child gained access to the luggage conveyor belt through an unstaffed section of a Spirit Airlines ticket counter. Hudson, who said he did not see the child go behind the ticket counter, stopped the conveyor belt, but did not see the boy.
Video clips showed Lorenzo's short journey through the airport. Footage shows him mounting the conveyor belt before it drags him down a chute and further away from his mother. He was eventually found by employees inside a TSA bag room who immediately pull him away.
Officers with Atlanta Police and Atlanta Fire and Rescue responded to the incident, an airport spokesperson said. The child later was treated for an injured arm at a local hospital.
TSA and Spirit Airlines are investigating the incident. The airline said in a statement: "Spirit Airlines is aware of an incident at Hartsfield-Jackson International in which an unattended child passed by a section of our ticket counter that was not staffed or open at the time. We are currently working with TSA and airport officials to ensure all protocol was followed. We wish the child the best in their recovery."
