A three-year-old boy has died after a Department of Human Resources worker left him inside a hot car. This horrific tragedy happened in Birmingham, Alabama, on Tuesday, July 22.
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Department Of Human Resources Worker Left 3-Year-Old Boy In Hot Car To Die
According to WVTM13, the child’s father identified him as Ke’Torrius Starks Jr. Starkes was left alone inside the scorching vehicle between 12:30 PM and 5:30 PM local time on Pine Tree Drive. He was declared deceased at 6:03 PM.
The person responsible was a contracted worker for DHR, Birmingham police confirmed. Starkes was in their care since his foster family typically dropped the toddler off at daycare. The DHR worker would then pick him up for supervised visits with his family.
ABC 3340 reported that someone called 911 around 6:40 PM to report an unresponsive child in a parked vehicle at the worker’s residence. According to Attorney Courtney French, the worker picked up Starkes from daycare at 9 AM for a supervised visit with the boy’s biological father.
This visit ended around 11:30 AM. Then, as the attorney’s office claimed, the worker stopped to buy food for her family and shopped at a tobacco store instead of returning Starkes to daycare.
After the shopping trip, the employee allegedly drove home with Starkes still in the back seat. She then left him there, possibly unknowingly, for over five hours.
“Heartbreaking And Preventable”
A spokesperson from DHR Alabama explained the situation. “A child in DHR custody was being transported by a contract provider when the incident occurred,” they said.
The spokesperson then confirmed that the employee was terminated. The employee worked for The Covenant Services Inc. before their termination. “Due to confidentiality, DHR cannot comment further regarding the identity of the child or the exact circumstances,” they added.
The attorney also gave their own statement regarding the child’s “heartbreaking and preventable” death. “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,” said French.
French explained how Starkes’ parents were stricken by grief. “This is a parent’s worst nightmare. Our baby should be alive,” said the parents via the attorney’s office.
WVTM13 spoke with the child’s father who said he’d remember his son for his intelligence. Starkes reportedly loved to count and could name colors.