A Tennessee state investigation is revealing how a 6-year-old girl was left inside a hot daycare van for nearly six hours on August 13. According to records, driver Tametria Norry told investigators she skipped the required walk-through of the van because she was hot. She then logged Winter Jones as dropped off at school, though the child never left the vehicle. Two daycare reviewers signed logs stating they had checked the van; both later admitted they never did.
The report also found the van was missing a mandated alarm device designed to remind drivers to check the back seats, and that staff were behind on required safety training. Winter, who was autistic and nonverbal, was found unresponsive around 2:30 p.m. and pronounced dead at a Memphis hospital at 3:12 p.m. Her uncle, Christopher Jones, said, “She couldn’t advocate for herself at all.” Kid University has permanently closed, and Norry, Amilya Hardin, and Sabrina Powe face charges of aggravated child neglect, criminally negligent homicide, and record tampering. All three have pleaded not guilty.
For families here on the Suncoast, this story lands hard. Many of us have handed a grandchild or a neighbor’s kid to a daycare van and trusted that the checks get done. They take seconds. The question now is what parents should be asking their own providers. Have you ever checked whether your daycare van has a working back-seat alarm? Tell us in the comments.
