A Tennessee daycare van driver accused in the death of a 6-year-old girl allegedly admitted she skipped a required safety check because “she was hot” — a stunning detail in a case that has devastated the child’s family.
Winter Jones, 6, died Aug. 13 after being left inside a daycare van for nearly six hours outside Kid University in Cordova, Tennessee.
Winter was autistic and nonverbal, meaning she was unable to alert anyone that she was trapped inside.
She had been dropped off at the daycare that morning and was supposed to be taken to Macon Hall Elementary School.
Instead, investigators say she was never removed from the vehicle.
By the time workers discovered her that afternoon, she was unresponsive.
Emergency crews were called around 3:23 p.m., and Winter was rushed to Baptist Children’s Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Now, newly released state records have revealed an especially troubling detail.
Tametria Norry, the van driver, allegedly told Tennessee Department of Human Services investigators that she did not perform the required walk-through of the vehicle because “she was hot.”
That required inspection was supposed to make sure no child had been left behind.
State investigators later found multiple transportation violations at Kid University.
According to the Department of Human Services, workers failed to complete required vehicle checks, failed to accurately maintain transportation logs and failed to verify that every child had exited the van.
Norry, 49, along with assistant director Sabrina Powe, 43, and daycare assistant Amilya Hardin, 21, were later indicted.
All three face charges of aggravated child neglect, criminally negligent homicide and tampering with or fabricating government records.
Each has pleaded not guilty.
The women were eventually released on $50,000 bonds.
Another court hearing is scheduled for Oct. 30.
The case has been especially heartbreaking because of Winter’s vulnerability.
Family members said she could not speak up or call for help while trapped inside the vehicle.
Her uncle previously said she “couldn’t advocate for herself at all.”
The temperature outside reached 97 degrees that day, with heat-index values around 103.
Medical experts told local media that the inside of a closed vehicle can climb to deadly temperatures in a matter of minutes.
Winter’s father, Bryan Jones, has described the loss as an “absolute nightmare.”
He said he will never get to walk his daughter down the aisle or watch her continue making progress as she grew older.
Her family said Winter had been developing and improving despite her autism.
Bryan also said his daughter’s internal body temperature reached 109 degrees.
Kid University permanently closed shortly after Winter’s death after surrendering its childcare license.
Records have also revealed another disturbing piece of background.
A different child died in 2021 at another daycare owned by the same operator, Dr. Raven Marshall-Lewis.
State records showed that facility had previously been cited for multiple health and safety violations.
Winter’s family has said the criminal charges are only the beginning of their push for accountability.
Their attorney said the family wants consequences for what they describe as a preventable death and plans to continue following the case closely.
