The child got onto the belt behind the Spirit Airlines check-in counter Monday afternoon and rode on the conveyor for about five minutes, the boy's mother, Edith Vega, told WSB-TV.
According to an Atlanta police incident report, the Gwinnett County mother set her son, Lorenzo, down near a kiosk so she could print her boarding pass. She looked up a moment later to see the 2-year-old riding away.
“When I tried to go after him, it was at the end of the machine,” Vega said. “I couldn’t even catch up ... I wanted to jump in and try to go get him, but they didn’t allow me. I was just freaking out.”
The airline said the ticket counter was closed at the time and there were no staff members nearby to pull the child off the belt.
A Transportation Security Administration employee alerted police after the 2-year-old fell into the TSA's bag room, WSB-TV reported. Transportation officials told Vega her son's ride included a series of loops and turns before he was dropped into the luggage room.
Lorenzo fractured his right hand in the incident and was taken to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite, where he is recovering.
It’s unclear whether the child’s hand got stuck in the conveyor belt or whether it was damaged by another passenger’s bags.
Vega said she’s just glad her son is OK.
"I'm thankful he's alive," she said. "That's all that goes through my mind. I'm just grateful he's here."
The incident remains under investigation by the TSA and airport officials, authorities said.
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