As a surveillance video of a child trapped inside a washing machine continues to attract national attention, the mother and grandmother of the boy are speaking out. Sakia David tells NBC10 not only was she not one of the adults in the video, but she didn’t even know about the incident until she saw it on the news.
Sakia says her 1-year-old son Saimeir Bush was with a babysitter in Camden on May 11 when he went to the federal Laundromat.
“I was working and that’s his father’s girlfriend,” said David.
Sakia also claims the man seen in the video placing her son in the washing machine is not the boy’s father and that she doesn’t know who the man is. After an employee was able to get Saimeir out, Sakia says the woman took her son to a local hospital to make sure he was okay. Sakia then says she asked the woman about the incident after recognizing her son when she saw the video. But when asked, Sakia claims the woman denied it.
“She said it wasn’t her,” said Sakia. “But when the cops came this morning to my house and told me to come outside I knew it was my baby.”
Sakia says police questioned the babysitter who later admitted it was her. Sakia also says police questioned both her and Saimeir’s grandmother Doreen Bey. While both Sakia and Doreen feel the babysitter is ultimately responsible, they say the most important thing is that Saimeir seems to be okay.
Saimeir Bush
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“Nobody should ever put a child in a washing machine,” said Doreen.
Sakia says she believes it was an accident and the woman shouldn’t be charged, though she’ll think twice before she ever places her son in the care of a babysitter again.
The Prosecutor's Office told NBC10 they have spoken with all of the boy's family members, the babysitter and her acquaintance. No one will be charged, according to the office though they have not yet confirmed nor denied the mother's claims.
