Mother of jet-setting 9-year-old 'proud' of runaway
The mother of a nine-year-old boy who boarded flights from Seattle to Texas and allegedly led police on a high-speed car chase said on TV today that she was stunned, but proud, of his actions.
“He just showed me that, ’Mom, I’m going to achieve anything I want to do. I’m going to just do it’. So he did it, from driving a car to getting on an airplane,” said Sakinah Booker on the syndicated TV show Inside Edition.
In the interview, her son, Semaj, of Lakewood, Washington, describes using a man’s name he overheard on a loudspeaker page at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to get a boarding pass from Southwest Airlines.
Southwest Airlines spokeswoman Beth Harbin said she had not heard about Semaj obtaining a passenger’s name that way.
“We are talking to every possible person we can to make sure we understand what happened,” Harbin said.
Booker’s lawyer, Brett Purtzer, said the mother was considering a lawsuit against Southwest Airlines.
The boy is said to have tried to run away to Dallas because he disliked Washington and wanted to be with his grandfather.
Semaj has been charged with stealing a car from his neighbour and leading police on a high-speed chase that preceded his effort to get to Texas.
On January 15, the 4ft9in boy managed to talk his way on to two flights, from Seattle to Phoenix and then to San Antonio.
Southwest Airlines said Semaj presented himself as a 12-year-old, and therefore would not have been listed as an unaccompanied minor. He requested a boarding pass, saying his mother was already in the boarding area.
Because he was under 18, Semaj did not have to show identification to get through airport security.
The boy was finally stopped by Southwest Airlines employees in San Antonio because, officials said, he did not have information that matched a reservation.
