Alabama Toddler Dies in Hot Car While in State Care

A 3-year-old boy died in a hot car in Birmingham, Ala., this week while with the state's Department of Human Resources — something the child's parents have called their "worst nightmare."

Ke'Torrius Starkes, Jr., who went by "KJ," was found unresponsive in the vehicle outside a home on Pine Tree Drive on Tuesday, June 22, a Birmingham police spokesperson said in a statement.

He was "accidentally left inside ... while in the care of a third-party contracted worker through the Department of Human Resources (DHR)," the spokesperson said.

KJ, who was from Bessemer, Ala., had been put in the temporary custody of the state due to allegations of drug use in his home, an attorney for his parents tells PEOPLE.

The lawyer, Courtney French, says he doesn't know when the boy was first placed with DHR.

KJ was left alone in the car between 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday and was pronounced dead at 6:03 p.m., local NBC affiliate WVTM reported.

The temperature that afternoon reached 96 degrees.

French says that the worker, who was employed to do transport through Covenant Services Inc., went Tuesday morning to pick KJ up from a child care center to bring him for a supervised visit with his dad.

Afterward, however, the worker did not bring the boy back to his center and instead decided "to run numerous personal errands with KJ still in a car seat in the back," French claims. The stops including getting food and going to a tobacco shop.

The employee then went home but KJ was left in the car, according to French.

"The safety net that should have been in place to protect KJ and others like him is what caused his death," French says. "So the very system that is in place for his protection was the system that led to his death — and that's what's so tragic about this."

In a brief statement, DHR confirmed that a child in their custody "was being transported by a contract provider when the incident occurred. The provider has terminated their employee."

"Due to confidentiality, DHR cannot comment further regarding the identity of the child or the exact circumstances," the agency said.

The worker involved has not been publicly identified but police said they "have been cooperative" and were "transported to the Birmingham Police Headquarters for questioning."

Someone who answered the phone at Covenant Services' office said no one there could provide a statement on the boy's death. An emailed request for comment was not immediately returned.

French says they are considering legal action; no one has been charged with a crime.

In a statement issued via French to local media, the family said, "This is a parent's worst nightmare. Our baby should be alive."

KJ's funeral is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 2, according to French. The Jefferson County Coroner's Office confirms to PEOPLE that his autopsy is complete and his body has been released to his parents.

His official cause of death is still pending.