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Boy, 9, sneaks onto US planes
17/01/2007 22:34 - (SA)
Lakewood - A 9-year-old boy ran away from home and sneaked onto two different flights before he was caught by police after missing his connection for a third flight, officials said on Wednesday.
Semaj Booker apparently found a Southwest Airlines boarding card and made it through airport security twice on Tuesday. He flew from Seattle to Phoenix, where he transferred onto a flight to San Antonio, Texas. He was taken into custody at San Antonio airport - short of his Dallas destination, police said.
The fourth-grader was in juvenile custody in San Antonio on Wednesday.
He had been trying to reach his grandfather in Dallas, where he used to live. High-speed chase
His odyssey began on Sunday when he stole a car that was left idling outside a neighbour's house, only to be spotted by police near a highway intersection.
Police pursued Semaj at speeds up to 145km/h until he took an exit and the engine blew, after which the car climbed a pavement and coasted into a tree. He refused to come out of the car, so officers broke a window to unlock a door and immediately recognised him as a frequent runaway and car thief, Lakewood police's David B Guttu said.
After his failed runaway attempt on Sunday, Semaj escaped from home again on Tuesday, this time travelling by plane instead of car. 'Tired of waiting'
Last month Semaj also crashed a stolen car before being caught by police in Tacoma, and more recently he was caught in Seattle in a stolen car that had run out of fuel, said his mother, Sakinah Booker.
She believes he learned to drive from playing video games on a PlayStation.
Booker said she had hoped to move her four sons back to Dallas soon, but Semaj grew tired of waiting.
Semaj was "incredibly motivated to get to Texas," Guttu said. "He doesn't want to live in Washington state."
Booker said her son disliked the neighbourhood where the family lived and was afraid of a sex offender who lived nearby.
"He does not like it here at all," she said.
- AP
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