NEW YORK — A chance encounter on a flight out of Las Vegas has gone viral on social media.
According to KATU, seven-year-old Landon has autism and traveling at any time can be a bit of a challenge. Due to circumstances beyond their control, Landon was forced to take his flight from Las Vegas to Portland alone.
His mother Alexa Bjornson said she worried about the trip.
“And I thought how do I make it so whoever’s sitting next to him won’t look at him as a burden, but more of I can help this kiddo get through the day?”
To help, she said she wrote a note to the person who he was sitting next to explaining what was going on and even stuffed $10 inside as a thank you. Come to find out, that lucky person sitting next to Landon was Ben Pedraza.
“We were cracking jokes and after a while, he asked me to quit making dad jokes,” Pedraza said.
“Do you think you made a new friend on this past flight with Ben?” KATU’s reporter asked of Landon after their story went viral.
“Yeah I did,” said Landon.
After their flight, Pedraza even took a photo with Landon to assure his mother that all was well. He said he even donated the money she sent to the Autism Society in Landon’s name.
Their story was posted online and has gone viral. It’s been shared more than 13,000 times.