A 6-year-old girl died after she was allegedly left inside a daycare bus for several hours during extreme summer heat in Cordova, Tennessee.
The child, identified by her family as Winter Jones, was discovered unresponsive at Kid University daycare shortly after 3 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 13. Memphis police said officers responded to an emergency call at the facility and found the child in need of medical assistance. She was transported to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
According to her family, Winter was autistic and nonverbal. Her uncle, Christopher Jones, said she was unable to communicate that she had been left on the bus.
“She really couldn’t let anybody know that she was still on the bus,” Jones told local news. “She couldn’t advocate for herself at all.”
Winter had reportedly been dropped off at the daycare by her father, Bryan Jones, Thursday morning. She was supposed to be transported from Kid University to Macon Hall Elementary School. According to her family, however, she apparently never got off the daycare bus and remained inside after the vehicle returned to the daycare parking lot. Staff reportedly did not realize she was still on the bus until later in the afternoon.
The Memphis area was experiencing dangerous heat that day, with temperatures reaching approximately 97 degrees Fahrenheit when Winter was found. Her father told local media that his daughter’s internal body temperature was 109 degrees.
Medical experts have warned that temperatures inside enclosed vehicles can become deadly within minutes, particularly during extreme heat. Dr. Rudy Kink, a pediatric emergency medicine specialist at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, said vehicle temperatures can rise dramatically when windows are closed and a vehicle is sitting in direct sunlight.
Winter’s death has prompted an investigation involving the Memphis Police Department, Tennessee Department of Human Services and Tennessee Department of Children’s Services. Police said Friday that no charges had been filed and that the investigation remains ongoing.
Tennessee regulations require daycare centers to conduct vehicle checks and maintain records of those checks. The Daily Memphian reported that state inspection records indicate Kid University had previously been cited over vehicle-check procedures, although no child was injured during that earlier incident.
Kid University has not publicly commented on Winter’s death, and its website was reportedly no longer active following the incident.
For Winter’s family, the tragedy has left them struggling to understand how such a heartbreaking loss could have happened.
“It hurts me to know that my little six-year-old niece is no longer here — physically at least,” Christopher Jones said. “But it really hurts me to see my brother in so much pain. It really does. This didn’t have to happen.”
The investigation is continuing as authorities work to determine exactly what happened between Winter’s arrival at daycare and when she was discovered inside the bus.
