An Alabama family is grieving after their three-year-old child was found dead in a hot car while in the custody of a child welfare official.
On July 22, 2025, Keterrius “KJ” Sparks from Bessemer, Alabama, died in a parked car in Birmingham. The authorities explained that he was left unattended between 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. He was pronounced dead at 6:03 p.m.
WBRC reported that a worker with Covenant Services, a third-party contracted worker for the Department of Human Resources (DHR), accidentally left Sparks in the vehicle.
A 3-year-old boy died in a hot car after being left inside for over five hours by a Department of Human Resources contract worker, who took him from his parents after they were deemed ‘unfit.’ 😳💔🕊️🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/kuO5iHAc8V
— Rain Drops Media (@Raindropsmedia1) July 24, 2025
Attorney Courtney French told ABC 33/40 that law enforcement received an emergency call at about 6:40 p.m. reporting that Sparks was found unresponsive in the vehicle, which was parked at the worker’s residence. The child was in temporary foster care and was picked up from daycare in the morning for a supervised visit with his father. The visit ended at about 11:30 a.m.
The attorney's office claims that instead of returning KJ to daycare, the worker, employed through The Covenant Services, Inc., stopped to pick up food for her family and shopped at a tobacco store. The employee reportedly returned to her home and KJ was left in the parked car for more than five hours.
The attorney's office said KJ was found unresponsive, fastened in his car seat, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
💔🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/7hEw61FiXB
— Rain Drops Media (@Raindropsmedia1) July 24, 2025
July 22 was a severe heat advisory day. The outside heat index was 108°F. ABC 33/40 noted that “experts say the inside of a vehicle can easily rise to 150°F or more—conditions known to be fatal to small children.
Covenant Services has terminated the individual who was responsible for Sparks on that day. “I mean, words can’t even express how I feel right now,” the father told WBRC. “As soon as I leave my son, the first thing he says is, ‘Daddy, I want to go with you.’ He says that every time, and it really hurts.”
"A heartbreaking and preventable tragedy. Based upon a preliminary investigation, 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 said.
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