BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — A former contractor for the Department of Human Resources has been charged in relation to the death of Ke’Torrious Starkes Jr. The 3-year-old passed away after being left in a hot vehicle for five hours last week, as reported by Birmingham police.
54-year-old Kela Stanford was arrested and booked into the Jefferson County Jail on a Class B felony early Friday morning.
We confirmed with jail officials that she bonded out shortly after 8 a.m.
The Jefferson County District Attorney’s office has charged Stanford with leaving 3-year-old Ke’Torrious Starkes Junior unattended in a vehicle in a way that posed an “unreasonable risk of injury or harm.”
District Attorney Danny Carr’s office released a statement which reads:
“This is a terrible tragedy that was completely avoidable and unnecessary. Our condolences go out to Ke’Torrious’s family.”
Birmingham Police said the child was accidentally left inside a vehicle on July 22 while in the care of a third party contracted worker through DHR.
Courtney French, the family’s attorney, stated that the child was being taken from daycare to a supervised visit with his father. After the visit concluded at 11:30 that morning, rather than returning the child to daycare, the attorney claims the worker went on errands and returned home, leaving the child in the parked car.
The Jefferson County Coroner’s office reported that law enforcement informed them the child was in the vehicle from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. with the windows closed.
We interviewed State Representative Patrick Sellers of Pleasant Grove, who is drafting legislation aimed at increasing oversight of DHR, particularly regarding the transportation of children.
“The concept involves having a layer of oversight, including GPS tracking and a system of checks and balances, especially for transporting children in DHR custody,” Sellers elaborated.
The democratic lawmaker said he expects his efforts to garner bi-partisan support in Montgomery.
“Anything we can do to help and to save our children; the most vulnerable of our population, we need to do just that,” Sellers said.
The funeral service for Ke’Torrious Starkes Jr. will be held on Saturday at Sixth Avenue Beulah Baptist Church in Bessemer at 12:30 p.m.
If convicted of the charge, Stanford could face from two up to 20 years behind bars.
