State Contractor's Oversight Leads to Boy's Death After Five Hours in Hot Vehicle

A tragic incident in Alabama has left a 3-year-old boy dead after being inadvertently forgotten in a hot vehicle for five hours, as reported by police. Ke’Torrius Starkes Jr., who was in foster care, had been under the supervision of a contractor from the Department of Human Resources, tasked with transporting him for a visit with his father. During an intense heatwave, with temperatures soaring into the triple digits, the child was neglected for hours.Birmingham police Sgt. Laquitta Wade stated that the contractor simply “forgot” the child was in the car. Currently, police consider Starkes’ death an unintentional tragedy. The contractor has been dismissed and is fully cooperating with the ongoing investigation, where potential legal repercussions are being explored.Courtney French, the family's attorney, emphasized that circumstances might have been vastly different had Starkes been with his parents. French further claims the contractor left the child unattended to shop for personal items. Starkes’ grieving parents expressed their anguish, declaring, “This is a parent’s worst nightmare.”