Latest news with #KeTorriusStarkes
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Alabama toddler dies in hot car while in state custody
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. Solve the daily Crossword
CNN
4 days ago
- CNN
Alabama toddler dies in hot car while in state custody
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.
New York Times
5 days ago
- New York Times
Outrage After Alabama 3-Year-Old Dies in Hot Car While in State's Care
A 3-year-old boy who was in the care of a contractor for Alabama's human resources department has died after being left in a hot car for about five hours, the authorities said, prompting an investigation and a call from state lawmakers for better oversight. The child, Ke'Torrius Starkes, Jr., who was in foster care, had been picked up at about 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday after a supervised visit with his father, the boy's aunt, Brittney DeBruce, said. She said the child was supposed to be transported to a day care program by a worker for a contractor with the human resources department, which oversees child protection, foster care and other social services. Ke'Torrius, whose nickname was KJ, was left in a vehicle from about 12:30 p.m. to about 5:30 p.m., on Tuesday in Bessemer, a southwestern suburb of Birmingham, Ms. DeBruce said in an interview on Friday. A lawyer for the family, G. Courtney French, said in an interview that the woman who was transporting the boy was a worker for Covenant Services, Inc. He said that after she picked him up from the supervised visit at the Department of Human Resources in Bessemer, she bought food, dropped it off at home, went to a tobacco shop, and returned home again and parked. Around 5:30 p.m., the day care center called her, asking where the child was, Mr. French said. KJ was strapped in the car, which had tinted windows, he said. 'This is a tragedy and a nightmare for any parent,' he said. The Birmingham Police Department said that officers were dispatched shortly after 5:30 p.m. to a private home in Bessemer to respond to a report of an unresponsive child. It said he was 'accidentally left inside of a vehicle while in the care of a third-party contracted worker through the Department of Human Resources.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
