Hawaii releases video of teen dropping from jet
Honolulu: The security footage looks unassuming at first a Hawaiian Airlines jet parked at a gate at the Maui airport under overcast skies, and workers going through their regular routine.
Then, the 15-year-old Somali-immigrant’s legs dangle briefly from the plane’s belly and he drops to the concrete. Hawaii transportation officials released video yesterday of a California teen hopping from a jet’s wheel well April 20 after stowing away for a 5½-hour flight.
The video largely confirms previous accounts given by FBI and airport officials of Yahya Abdi’s seemingly unbelievable story: that he ran away from home, hopped a fence at Mineta San Jose International Airport and climbed into the wheel well of the closest plane. Abdi survived the flight at 35,000 feet despite low oxygen and freezing temperatures.
The six minutes of security footage that the Hawaii Department of Transportation released show Abdi lowering himself from the Boeing 767 and jumping to the ground. He sits on the concrete for 13 seconds, then gets up and slowly walks toward the front of the plane. He wobbles slightly as he walks, pausing briefly a few times in the roughly 40 seconds it takes him to get under the passageway connecting the front of the airplane with the terminal. Abdi walks up to an airport worker driving a cart, and the two talk for about three minutes before walking away together. The boy stays standing the whole time. Hawaii Department of Transportation spokeswoman Caroline Sluyter said the footage was released after the state attorney general’s office reviewed media requests. San Jose, California, police spokesman Albert Morales said the Abdi flew back to California over the weekend and was being cared for by Santa Clara County Child Protective Services.
Morales said in a statement yesterday that authorities plan to work with the boy’s attorney to set up an interview with him in the near future. After the department concludes its investigation, it will consult with Santa Clara County district attorney’s office and city of San Jose representatives to decide whether to file charges against him, Morales said. (AP)
Man returns to jail to get away from girlfriend
London: A desperate man in France breached his parole on purpose because he wanted to get away from his girlfriend. The man from Pas De Calais, who was recently released on parole, cut off his electronic tag after getting into a fight with his partner.
He was apparently willing to go to any lengths possible to get away from his girlfriend, even if it meant spending more time behind the bars, ‘The Local’ reported.
“This is someone who was at the end of his sentence and could not bear to be stuck at home,” the French prosecutor said. “So he actually cut off his tag, triggering an alert. He wanted to go back to prison,” the prosecutor added. The 50-year-old man, who had been convicted of minor traffic offences related to alcohol consumption, will now spend two more months behind bars, the report said. (PTI)
US girl graduates college before high school!
Houston: A 16-year-old US whiz kid has achieved an unusual double of graduating from high school and college in the same week — completing her bachelor’s degree first. Grace Bush, who lives in Hollywood, Florida, received her degree from Florida Atlantic University with a sparkling 3.8 grade-point average.
She will now receive her “other” diploma next Friday from Florida Atlantic University high school.
“It’s kind of weird that I graduated college before high school,” Bush was quoted as saying by the CBS News.
The teen from Hollywood earned her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice on Friday.
“I started when I was 13 at Broward College and I also took my classes throughout the summer, so I was able to finish it before four years,” she said.
Florida Atlantic University high school’s dual enrollment programme allows high performing high school students to earn credit for the same courses towards their college degree and save thousands of dollars in tuition at the same time.
Grace’s parents wanted their nine children to earn college credit in high school because they cannot afford to send all of their kids to college.
Their mother, who home schooled all the kids knew early on, said Grace had a knack for learning.
“At two years old, she was already reading and I was totally shocked,” Grace’s mother Gisla Bush, who is happy with the achievement was quoted as saying after the girl’s unusual feat. (PTI)
