Alabama Toddler Dies After Hours in Hot Car

Ke’Torrius "KJ" Sparks Jr., a three-year-old boy in Bessemer, Alabama, died after being left in a hot car for about five hours by a contract worker for the state's Department of Human Resources (DHR). The child, who was in foster care, had just left a supervised visit with his father and was supposed to be taken to a daycare program but was accidentally left in the vehicle, where temperatures likely exceeded 150 degrees. The contracted worker, employed by Covenant Services, has cooperated with law enforcement and was terminated following the incident. Authorities and family attorneys have called the death preventable and heartbreaking, while DHR stated it cannot comment further due to confidentiality. Community members have planned a candlelight vigil and balloon release to honor KJ's memory. This incident is the 16th child death from heat exhaustion in a vehicle in the U.S. in 2025.