A Northumberland County woman accused of leaving her 21-month-old daughter in a sweltering sedan for nearly six hours is headed to trial.
Tonia Lee Sones, 26, has withdrawn her no-contest plea to an aggravated assault charge.
Her attorney, Kyle W. Rude, said Thursday his client chose to stand trial after Northumberland County Judge Charles H. Saylor informed her she would be sentenced to state prison.
The plea agreement called for a county prison sentence with work release eligibility.
The judge gave Sones time to consider her options and she chose to go to trial, Rude said.
She entered the plea in August during jury selection for her trial on charges of aggravated and simple assault, endangering the welfare of a child and recklessly endangering another person.
Sones’ daughter suffered a heat stroke while in the hot vehicle on June 1, 2018, causing extensive brain damage.
Assistant District Attorney Julia Skinner were unsuccessful said the toddler could not speak, feed herself or have solid foods, had daily seizures and no control over her limbs, was unable to walk and had vision impairments.
She was removed from the mother by the county Department of Children and Youth Services, she said.
State police accused Sones of intentionally leaving the baby in the hot car but this is her account of what occurred as detailed in arrest documents:
She left her daughter asleep in the car about 7 a.m. while she went inside her Delaware Twp. home to take a shower.
She decided not to wake the child because her mother, who watched her overnight while she was working, told her she had slept for only about three hours.
She made sure the windows were up and the doors locked before going into the house.
She fell asleep by accident as did her boyfriend who also works at night.
When she awoke about 12:45 p.m. she put on sweatpants and a T-shirt and rushed outside to find her daughter having a seizure. She brought her inside and called 911.
The girl initially was treated at Evangelical Community Hospital near Lewisburg where her arrival temperature was 103 degrees.