A three-year-old foster child has died in Alabama after being left alone in a hot car for approximately five hours by a driver employed by children's services. The boy, identified as Kettorius 'KJ' Starks Jnr of Bessemer, was found in a parked vehicle with its windows rolled up on Tuesday, July 22.
Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates stated that the boy is believed to have been left in the car from 12.30pm until around 5.30pm when he was discovered. Local temperatures reached about 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35C), but the National Weather Service reported it would have felt as high as 103 degrees (39.4C) by 1pm due to high humidity.
The boy's aunt, Brittney Debruce, said he was living in a foster home under the care of Alabama's Department of Human Resources. A transport driver working as a contractor for the department had picked Kettorius up from daycare and taken him for a planned visit with his father. After the visit, the driver allegedly went to purchase groceries and tobacco before parking the vehicle at his home.
The alarm was raised when Kettorius' foster carer went to pick him up from daycare and found he was not there. Ms Debruce and Birmingham Police later discovered the child inside the car. The boy's parents described the situation as their 'worst nightmare', stating: 'Our baby should be alive.'
Alabama's Department of Human Resources confirmed that the child was being transported by a contract provider when the incident occurred, and that the provider had terminated the employee. The driver worked for The Covenant Services, a company contracted to provide transport services. Family attorney Courtney French called it 'a heartbreaking and preventable tragedy.'
