A Valley Stream, New York, family is speaking out after their 11-year-old son, who has autism, managed to leave home alone, climb into an Uber, and travel all the way to New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport without anyone realizing what had happened. According to a video posted by The Neighborhood Talk on Instagram, surveillance footage showed Jamel Johnson getting into a black car at 5:55 a.m. with a suitcase in hand, just before his parents woke up to find him missing.
Jamel’s mother described the moment they discovered he was gone as something no parent should have to go through. “I didn’t know what was happening. I didn’t know where my son was,” she said. The outlet noted that the family checked their home security camera and saw their son entering the vehicle on his own, which sent them into what his mother called “frantic mode.”
The situation resolved when Jamel’s father called his son’s phone and reached Port Authority police, who had already located the boy. News 12 reported that staff at JFK’s Terminal 1 spotted Jamel standing alone in a TSA security line around 6:30 a.m. and quickly recognized he needed help. Police brought him to a Port Authority post, where emergency medical staff confirmed he was unharmed before he was reunited with his family. Jamel later shared that his intended destination had been Japan.
Per a statement the Port Authority gave to News 12, officers acted swiftly once they identified that the child was traveling unaccompanied. Jamel’s parents say running off isn’t unusual for children on the autism spectrum, but they’re frustrated that no one intervened sooner. “He looks like a child. Why would you let him get in your car and pull off?” his mother said, pointing to Uber’s policy that bars minors from riding without an adult present.
It remains unclear how Jamel was able to book the ride or get past that safeguard. News 12 said it reached out to Uber for comment and was still awaiting a response, though the outlet noted the Johnson family has since been in contact with the company’s trust and safety department.
Reflecting on the ordeal, Jamel said he wasn’t scared, just a little nervous, adding that he knew he would be fine. His parents, however, say the experience could have ended very differently and are urging Uber to do more to keep children from being able to ride alone.
