Ke’Torrius Starkes Jr: Toddler dies after being left in hot car by his carer in Alabama

A family has been struck by a preventable tragedy after their toddler was allegedly left alone in a hot car for five hours by a carer.

Ke’Torrius Starkes Jr was found in a hot car in Birmingham, Alabama on Tuesday night, after a Department of Human Resources worker allegedly left him there for five hours between 12.30 and 5.30pm.

The three-year-old was pronounced dead at 6.03 pm, WVTM13 reported.

The boy is in care with a foster family, who dropped him off at a daycare centre, where a DHR worker then collected him and took him for a supervised visit with his family.

Courtney French, the lawyer for Ke’Torrius’ biological family, told ABC 3340 that the boy had been picked up from daycare at 9am and that his supervised visit with his father had ended at 11.30am.

She said the event was a “heartbreaking and preventable tragedy”.

“Based upon a preliminary investigation, with the current extreme outside temperatures and the heat index of 42 degrees (Celsius), the interior temperature of the car where KJ was trapped likely exceeded 65 degrees (Celsius),” said Ms French.

She said Ke’Torrius’ parents said that this is “a parent’s worst nightmare” and that the toddler “should be alive”.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Alabama DHR said, “a child in DHR custody was being transported by a contract provider when the incident occurred”.

“The provider has terminated their employee. Due to confidentiality, DHR cannot comment further regarding the identity of the child or the exact circumstances.”

Tributes are flowing for the boy and his family on social media.

“Oh my goodness, so heartbreaking. He is precious,” one Facebook user wrote.

“Absolutely breaks my heart! As a mother and grandmother, I just cannot understand how you can forget a child in a car. I know it has happened a lot in recent years. But I just can’t understand. God bless you, little man, I hope you’re dancing in the sky,” another user wrote.