CORDOVA, Tenn. (WMC) – A six-year-old girl died Thursday after being left on a daycare van in the summer heat for hours, according to her family.
Winter Jones was discovered at Kid University, located at 771 Walnut Knoll Lane in Cordova, just after 3 p.m.
The Memphis Police Department said officers responded to an ambulance call at 3:23 p.m. and upon arrival, they observed a child “in need of medical assistance.”
Her family said she was taken to the emergency room at Baptist Children’s Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
‘She couldn’t advocate for herself’
Winter’s uncle, Christopher Jones, said the child was non-verbally autistic and unable to alert anyone that she had been left in the van.
“So… she really couldn’t let anybody know that she was still on the bus,” Christopher said. “She couldn’t advocate for herself at all.”
He said Winter’s father, Bryan, was distraught following the news.
“He’s not doing well. None of us are really doing well at all. It’s hard. It’s tough,” Christopher said.
Temperatures inside vehicles can become deadly within minutes
The Action News 5 First Alert Weather team says the temperature outside was 97 degrees Fahrenheit when Winter was discovered.
Dr. Rudy Kink, a pediatric emergency medicine specialist at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, said vehicle interior temperatures can rise to lethal levels within minutes.
“With the car out in the direct sun at 97 degrees, the temperature can increase exponentially over minutes to where the temperatures can become deadly… 120, 140 degrees… it takes no time, especially with the windows up,” Kink said.
Investigation underway; daycare website suspended
The Department of Children’s Services confirmed the agency is involved in the investigation. The Kid University website was suspended Thursday night.
Kid University did not respond to a request for comment.
Tennessee daycares are required by law to use monitoring devices, perform bus checks and maintain daily logs of those checks.
According to the nonprofit Kids and Car Safety, at least 18 children have died in hot cars nationwide this year before Winter’s death. Her death brings that number to 19.
And in Tennessee, Winter is the third child to die after being trapped in a hot car this year. The second death happened just days ago, during this same heat wave. The first was reported in April.
Christopher reflected on the loss of his niece:
“It hurts me to know that my little six-year-old niece is no longer here — physically at least. But it really hurts me to see my brother in so much pain. It really does,” Jones said. “This didn’t have to happen.”
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