PWC Woman Charged After Child Left In Car In 97 Degree Heat: Police

MANASSAS, VA – A Haymarket woman has been charged with child neglect after police say she left an 8-year-old in a car for an hour on a day when temperatures reached 98 degrees.

According to Prince William County Police, officers responded to the 8100 block of Flannery Court in Manassas at 3:55 p.m. after a report of child neglect. They say they found an 8-year-old girl who had been left in a vehicle with the engine off, in direct sunlight, for an hour.

According to Accuweater, the high temperature in Manassas on Wednesday was 98 degrees. The entire Northern Virginia region is under a severe heat warning.

The girl was able to leave the vehicle and seek assistance, and no injuries were reported. The person who left her was identified as a member of her family: Dania Bolte Thomas, 44, of Haymarket. She is charged with felony child neglect. She has a hearing scheduled for September 9.

The National Weather Service says heat inside closed cars can become deadly within an hour at outside temperatures of just 80 degrees, far cooler than Wednesday was. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Commission, 31 children died of heatstroke in vehicles in 2025.