A three-year-old boy who was taken away from his parents died after a Department of Human Resources contract worker left him in a hot car for at least five hours.
As reported by WVTM13, 3-year-old Ke'Torrius "KJ" Starks Jr. was in temporary custody of the Alabama Department of Human Resources when he was left in a car during triple-digit temperatures on Tuesday, July 22. He was left alone in a car outside the DHR at approximately 12:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. by a worker employed through The Convenant Services Inc., who allegedly left the toddler in the car as she went shopping and visited her house. He was identified by his biological father and pronounced dead at 6:03 p.m. local time.
"A child in DHR custody was being transported by a contract provider when the incident occurred," said a spokesperson for the Alabama DHR. "The provider has terminated their employee. Due to confidentiality, DHR cannot comment further regarding the identity of the child or the exact circumstances."
Speaking with ABC 3340, his family's attorney, Courtney French, said that the child was picked was in temporary foster care and went for a supervised visit with his father that same day. "A heartbreaking and preventable tragedy, French added. "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."
He is the 16th child nationwide to have died from heat exhaustion from being left in a car this year.