Authorities in Alabama on Monday said that a 3-year-old foster child who died in a hot car was left by a state contractor who had “forgotten that the child was in the vehicle.”
Per AL.com, the incident occurred on Tuesday, July 22, and the minor was identified as Keterrious ‘KJ’ Starkes Jr. The vehicle Keterrious was in at the time of his death was parked at the driveway of a private home. The engine was not on, and the windows had also not been rolled down.
Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates said that Keterrious was left inside the vehicle between 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. He was later pronounced dead at the scene.
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“At this time, the only thing that I can say is that we believe it [the child’s death] was accidental,” Police Sgt. Laquitta Wade told NBC News on Monday. Wade also said the contractor had “forgotten that the child was in the vehicle.”
Wade said that an investigation into Keterrious’ death has since been launched, and it is up to the district attorney to determine if charges will be filed.
Brittney Debruce, who is Keterrious’ aunt, told AL.com that the deceased 3-year-old was in the custody of the Department of Human Resources and staying with a foster parent. She said that Keterrious was absent at his daycare when the foster parent arrived to pick him up.
Debruce said Keterrious was picked up by a transport driver likely working for a company the DHR had contracted to handle visitation transportation for children. She said the transportation driver had taken her nephew to the DHR in Bessemer to see his father for a scheduled visit.
But Keterrious was not taken back to the daycare after seeing his father, and authorities later found the minor unattended in the car.
The family’s attorney, Courtney French, also told the news outlet that a DHR-affiliated worker, who took Keterrious to meet his biological father for a supervised visit, was an employee of The Covenant Services. The worker left the daycare with Keterrious at 9 a.m, and the supervised visit with the minor’s father lasted until around 11:30 a.m.
French said the worker subsequently went to grab food for her family before making her way to a tobacco store to shop. But the worker left Keterrious alone in the car for several hours after she arrived home. “This is a heartbreaking and preventable tragedy,” French said.
“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 added.
Authorities have not revealed the contracted worker’s identity, though police say investigators have questioned her, and she “has been cooperative,” NBC News reported.
The DHR in a statement also said that the affiliated worker has since been terminated by her provider.
“A child in DHR custody was being transported by a contract provider when the incident occurred,” the statement said. “The provider has terminated their employee. Due to confidentiality, DHR cannot comment further regarding the identity of the child or the exact circumstances.”
Debruce told NBC News that the contractor linked to her nephew’s death frequently took the minor to scheduled visits and dropped him off afterwards. She said there shouldn’t have been any issues as a result.
“So this isn’t her first time picking him up; this is what she does for her job,” Debruce said.
Keterrious’ memorial service will be held at the Sixth Avenue Beulah Baptist Church in Bessemer on Saturday.
“I truly believe in my heart, because I have met her several times and she has transferred kids a lot, I don’t think she killed my nephew intentionally,” Debruce said. “But she made a mistake. We definitely want answers, and we won’t stop.”
