NEED TO KNOW
- A 3-year-old boy died in a hot car in Birmingham, Ala., on Tuesday, July 22
- Ke’Torrius Starks Jr. was left in the temporary care of the Department of Human Resources
- “This is a parent’s worst nightmare,” his parents said in a statement via attorney Courtney French
A 3-year-old boy died in a hot car in Birmingham, Ala., on Tuesday, July 22, while in the care of a Department of Human Resources worker.
Ke’Torrius Starks Jr. was identified by his father at the coroner’s office. Starkes, who was from Bessemer, Ala., was found in a hot car outside a home on Pine Tree Drive. The child had been left alone in the car between 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. local time, and was pronounced dead at 6:03 p.m. local time, local NBC affiliate WVTM13 reported.
Tuesday was considered a First Warning Impact Day, with the heat index in the triple digits, per the outlet.
“A child in DHR custody was being transported by a contract provider when the incident occurred,” a spokesperson for Alabama DHR told WVTM13 and AL.com. “The provider has terminated their employee. Due to confidentiality, DHR cannot comment further regarding the identity of the child or the exact circumstances.”
PEOPLE contacted Alabama DHR for comment.
The family’s attorney, Courtney French, told ABC 3340 the child was in temporary foster care and had been picked up from daycare at 9:00 a.m. for a supervised visit with his biological father, which ended around 11:30 a.m.
French alleged that instead of returning Starks to daycare, the worker, employed through The Covenant Services, Inc., stopped to pick up food for her family and shopped at a tobacco store. The employee then allegedly returned to her home and left the child in the parked car for more than five hours.
“A heartbreaking and preventable tragedy. Based upon a preliminary investigation, with the current extreme outside temperatures and the heat index of 108 degrees, the interior temperature of the car where KJ was trapped likely exceeded 150 degrees,” French told ABC 3340.
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French’s office said Starks’ parents are grieving this loss. In a statement issued via French, the family said, “This is a parent’s worst nightmare. Our baby should be alive.”
PEOPLE has reached out to the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office and French’s firm, Petway French Ford, for comment.
