3-Year-Old In State Family Service Custody Died Inside Hot Car Parked For Hours: Lawyer

Yahoo

5 days ago

A 3-year-old Alabama boy who died while in the care of the state's Department of Human Resources was found inside a hot parked car on Tuesday after he was picked up from his father's scheduled visit.
Ke'Torrius Starks Jr. was living in temporary foster care at the time of his death and was picked up from day care by a third-party DHR contract provider for a planned visitation with his father, Ke'Torrius Starks Sr., the child's aunt Brittney Debruce told AL.com.
However, the 3-year-old never returned back to the day care once the visitation was over.
Courtney French, who is representing the child's family, told ABC affiliate WBMA-LD the child's visitation with his biological father ended at around 11:30 a.m. that morning and was picked up by a third-party contract worker.
However, Ke'Torrius Starks Sr. did not hear about his son's well-being until 6:40 p.m., French told the outlet. He said police informed Starks that the child was found unresponsive inside a vehicle that was parked for over five hours.
'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,' French said, calling the incident 'a heartbreaking and preventable tragedy.'
French told the outlet the worker had stopped to pick up food for her family after picking up Ke'Torrius from the visitation, then shopped at a tobacco store before returning back to her home, leaving the boy outside, fastened in his car seat.
Ke'Torrius was pronounced dead once Birmingham Fire & Rescue Service arrived, according to a press release shared with HuffPost. The contract worker was taken in for questioning and authorities claimed she had 'accidentally' left the boy inside the car.
DHR told HuffPost in an email 'the provider has terminated their employee' and due to confidentiality, they cannot comment further regarding the exact circumstances surrounding Ke'Torrius' death.
In a statement to WBMA-LD, Ke'Torrius' family called the boy's death 'a parent's worst nightmare,' adding, 'our baby should be alive.'
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