Alabama toddler dies in hot car while in state custody

CNN

3 days ago

The Birmingham Police Department is investigating the death of a 3-year-old boy who was trapped inside a hot car while in the custody of an worker contracted by the Alabama Department of Human Resources, the state's child protective services agency, according to the Jefferson County Medical Examiner's Office and the state Department of Human Resources.
Ke'Torrius 'K.J.' Starkes Jr. had been left inside a car parked outside a home in Birmingham, Alabama, for several hours during the middle of the day on Tuesday, the Jefferson County Medical Examiner's Office said.
It was humid with temperatures ranging from 93 to 96 degrees during the 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. window when K.J. was allegedly left alone inside the car. Heat index values, which factor in temperature and humidity to determine what it feels like in the shade, ranged from 101 to 105 degrees, according to CNN meteorologists.
The family says a worker, who was employed through a company contracted by the Alabama Department of Human Resources, picked K.J. up from daycare at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday for a supervised visit with his father. That visit ended around 11:30 a.m., according to Courtney French, the family's attorney.
'Rather than properly returning K.J. immediately to daycare, the worker made numerous personal errands with K.J. buckled in a car seat in the back of her car,' French told CNN.
CNN has contacted the contract company and the Birmingham Police Department but did not immediately hear back.
According to a timeline provided by the family attorney, the employee went home at 12:30 p.m., leaving K.J. 'strapped inside the vehicle, with all windows up and the car engine off.' He was left in the parked car outside the employee's home for more than five hours before the daycare reached out to her to ask why K.J. hadn't returned, French said.
'The worker told law enforcement that it was only then that she realized K.J. was still in her vehicle,' French said, noting that 911 was then called. K.J. was pronounced dead at 6:03 p.m., according to the medical examiner's office.
The Alabama Department of Human Resources said the incident occurred while the child was 'in DHR custody' and 'being transported by a contract provider.' The department noted that their contract provider has terminated their employee.
'Due to confidentiality, DHR cannot comment further regarding the identity of the child or the exact circumstances,' the agency said in a statement Saturday.
K.J.'s death is the first hot car death in Alabama this year and he is at least the 16th child to die in a hot car nationwide in 2025, according to Amber Rollins, the director of Kids and Car Safety, a nonprofit organization dedicated to its namesake issue.
CNN's Linda Lam contributed to this reporting.