KeTorrius Starkes Jr preventable hot car death: How a 3 year old Bessemer, Alabama foster care boy came to be failed by his own biological parents and a Department of Human Resources worker who forgot the child in a hot car amid searing temperatures only for the boy to die hours later.
Doomed at every corner … A 3-year-old Alabama boy has died after he was left alone in a scorching car by a child protective services worker moments after leaving a supervised visit with his dad.
KeTorrius ‘KJ’ Starks Jr., who had been living in temporary foster care, was left in the Department of Human Resources worker’s car in Birmingham for five hours Tuesday as temperatures reached 108 Fahrenheit (42 Celsius) degrees, AL.com reported.
‘This is a parent’s worst nightmare,’ the child’s parents said in a statement. ‘Our baby should be alive.’
The tragedy unfolded after the child’s Bessemer foster family had dropped him off at daycare at 9 a.m. so a DHR worker — who was contracted by a third party — could pick him up for a scheduled visit with his biological father, authorities said.
When the supervised visit ended around 11:30 a.m., the worker allegedly stopped to pick up food for her family along with stopping at a tobacco store instead of returning him to the daycare facility as planned.
The worker then allegedly went to their own home, where the boy was left alone in the car — with the windows rolled up — from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., authorities said.
The 3 year old boy was pronounced dead at the scene just after 6 p.m.
‘A child in DHR custody was being transported by a contract provider when the incident occurred,’ a DHR spokesperson said.
‘The provider has terminated their employee. Due to confidentiality, DHR cannot comment further regarding the identity of the child or the exact circumstances.’
Starkes Sr speaking to FOX54 about his son, said: ‘[He] knew how to count, knew his colors three years old, knew all the animals. I’m talking about he was very intelligent. He was just joyful.’
It also wasn’t known how long Ke’Torrius, also known as ‘KJ’ had been with his foster family or how the 5 year old child came to be removed from his biological parents.
‘This is a heartbreaking and preventable tragedy,’ said Courtney French, a lawyer for the boy’s family told ABC News.
‘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.’
KJ’s family has since called for the employee involved to be face consequences.
His aunt Brittney Johnson said his death was caused by ‘neglect.’
‘I feel personally that he was neglected and that’s the true cause of his death,’ she told Local 12.
The un-identified DHR worker was reported to be cooperating with police.
The child’s death is the first hot-car death reported in Alabama this year and the 16th hot car death in 2025
Alabama police continue to probe the the child’s death. It remains unclear if charges are now forthcoming.
Not immediately clear is what type of protocol DHR had in place for people who are transporting children, especially in the summer time amid searing temperatures. Or why the agency had reached out to the DHR worker after the boy failing to return to the daycare center Tuesday afternoon…
