A Little Rock daycare owner charged with second-degree murder is out on bond after investigators said an infant was left in a hot car for several hours.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A Little Rock daycare owner who was charged with second-degree murder is out on bond after investigators said an infant was left in a hot car for several hours on Wednesday.
Officials with the Little Rock Police Department said that what began as a routine morning ended in tragedy.
According to police reports, 62-year-old Hope Jones picked the infant up from the child’s foster mother just before 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning to bring the baby to the daycare she owns, Hope Academy.
However, investigators said the child was never taken out of the vehicle and was left in the vehicle for eight hours before Jones later found the baby unresponsive.
According to the Arkansas Department of Education, which also oversees daycares, Hope Academy has had zero violations in the past year.
However, as the criminal case moves forward, child safety advocates said these cases often have one thing in common.
“We want people to be extra cautious anytime there are changes in the routine. That’s a big contributing factor. Something as small as taking a different route or changing times leads to missed drop-offs,” explained Amber Rollins, who is the Kids and Cars Safety executive director.
She also said that incidents like this continue to happen with increased awareness and added that it’s easy to get distracted and forget a sleeping baby in the backseat while the caregiver is in auto pilot mode.
“This is something that nobody thinks is going to happen to them. Every year, we lose nearly 40 babies in hot cars,” Rollins said.
According to Rollins, cars act as a greenhouse and heat up fast, especially in the first 10 minutes. She said it doesn’t need to be 90 degrees outside; even at 60 degrees, it can take just minutes before you get heat stroke.
She also explained how babies’ body temperature rises faster than that of adults.
Now, Rollins is advocating for more laws and procedures.
“For childcare facilities, there needs to be policies in place that check and double-check and have multiple people checking kids on and off vehicles when they’re being transported,” she said.
Also, it is important for families to create best practices.
“Open the back door, check the back seat every time you leave your vehicle, even if you don’t have the children with you,” Rollins said.
Jones is out on a $15,000 bond, and her next court appearance is set for September 9, 2026.
As of Thursday, Hope Academy was open. We looked into the state laws as to how the business can remain open during the court process.
For more information on the laws in Arkansas, please click here.
————————————————
