CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After the tragic death of a three-year-old boy, the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport assures us it's committed to reviewing safety and risk as some say the area near the airport's escalators are inherently dangerous for kids.
Jiterria Lightner turned herself in to police Thursday night on three counts of misdemeanor neglect. Her attorney appeared in court Friday on her behalf.
As she awaits her day in court, her attorney is raising questions about what he considers a dangerous gap between many of the airports escalators and stairwells.
"Unfortunately, at this particular location there was no barrier that was forbidding a young child, any kind of attractive nuisance from coming in and playing in between those areas," attorney Michael Greene said. "This wasn't an instance where she was not paying attention to her children."
Greene said even with their mother close by, the unrestricted gap proved irresistible to the little boy and his siblings. He said the escalator pulled him to the top where he fell. Greene said what strikes him is not every escalator at the airport has a gap. For example, there's one on the other end of the baggage claim without a gap.
At a holiday travel media briefing earlier this week, airport officials chose not to address the little boy's fall. The airport also wouldn't answer specific questions by email about any changes prompted by his death, specifically whether the gap would be covered.
"We are committed to and constantly reviewing safety and risk," the airport said in a statement. "We review any and all recommendations and take appropriate measures."
We're still waiting to find out how the airport responded internally to this situation. We requested public records back in October and are told some of those records should be available soon.
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