The Department of Human Resources (DHR) contractor accused of leaving a three-year-old boy in a hot car has apologized to the family, saying, "Sorry isn't enough to express how I feel."
Ke'Torrius "KJ" Starkes, Jr. of Bessemer, was found dead in Birmingham after allegedly being left unattended in a hot car for nearly five hours.
Birmingham Police say Starkes was accidentally left inside the vehicle while in the care of Covenant Services, a third-party contractor for DHR.
A spokesperson for DHR told 1819 News that the contractor had terminated the unnamed employee, adding, “Due to confidentiality, DHR cannot comment further regarding the identity of the child or the exact circumstances.”
The family accused the driver of taking Starkes to her home instead of to daycare after leaving visitation from his father. The driver allegedly made several stops, including to a tobacco store, before arriving home and leaving Starkes in the car at around 12:30 p.m. Starkes was pronounced dead at the scene at 5:30 p.m.
New audio, allegedly between the driver and Starkes’ family, given to WVTM, shows her admitting to forgetting that the boy was in the car and apologizing profusely.
“I went to the daycare, and I got sidetracked and stopped off and got something to eat,” the driver says. “And when I came out, instead of going to the left to the daycare because I got called and said I didn’t have a case, I instantly said to myself, ‘Oh, I’m done for the day. I’m going to go home.’”
The audio recording continued, "I'm truly sorry. Sorry isn't enough to express how I feel. I am so sorry for your family. I am so sorry.”
Various members of Starkes’s family can be heard in the audio, angrily expressing disbelief that she could forget the child was still in the car.
“This baby died in a car,” a relative says. “He suffocated. He didn’t have no help. No nothing. You had the child safety lock on the doors. You didn’t think to look in the back seat?!”
“No ma’am, I did not,” the driver replies. “I wouldn’t have killed no child.”
Law enforcement has not announced charges against the driver, and many in the state have called for more accountability from DHR.
SEE: State Sen. Elliott: Ivey response to death of 3-year-old child in DHR custody not 'adequate'
SEE ALSO: State Rep. Sellers calls for reform in hot car death of 3-year-old in DHR custody
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