An Alabama case worker has been fired and a state investigation is underway after a three year old toddler died in a hot car while in the custody of The Department of Human Resources. Ke’Torrius Starks Jr was supposed to be taken back to daycare following a supervised visit with his biological father. Published reports say the youngster was left in a hot car for hours and declared dead about an hour after police arrived.
The New York Daily News reports Starks was found alone and unresponsive inside a vehicle parked outside a Birmingham home in the 1500 block of Pine Tree Drive, AL.com reported. The 3-year-old was likely in the vehicle, which reached temperatures of 150 degrees, from around 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
He was pronounced dead about an hour later.
The family’s attorney, Courtney French, told ABC 3340 Ke’Torrius had been been in temporary foster care. His case worked was reportedly employed by The Covenant Services, Inc., and was supposed to pick him up from daycare at 9 a.m. for a parental visit with his father which ended around 11:30. Published reports say, instead of returning the child to day care, the case worker shopped for groceries for her family and then visited a tobacco story before going home, and apparently leaving Ke’Torrius in the case.
Attorney French told ABC 33/40 that a 9-1-1 call was made about an unresponsive child at 6:40 pm that night. With exterior temperatures estimated at 108 degrees, the attorney estimates the heat inside the car was about 150 degrees.
A spokesperson for Alabama’s DHR confirmed the employee was a “contract provider” who has since been terminated. They did not provide further details. Ke’Torrius’ death remains under investigation.
“A heartbreaking and preventable tragedy,” French noted for the New York Daily News. “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.”
