Alabama authorities on Monday called the death of a toddler inside a hot car a tragic accident after a contractor for the state Department of Human Resources allegedly had "forgotten that the child was in the vehicle.

He was allegedly left in a car for five hours in the afternoon as temperatures hit triple digits in Alabama, police said, WVTM13 reported. Speaking to NBC News, Birmingham police Sgt. Laquitta Wade called the incident an accident.

The family of 3-year-old Ke’Torrius “K.J.” Starkes Jr. is remembering the little boy as a “joyful,” “brilliant” “happy boy who loved life, who would light up any room that he would enter into.”