JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As school lets out and summer vacation begins, the family of a 2-year-old Jacksonville girl who drowned in an apartment complex retention pond is speaking out — demanding stronger water safety measures from property owners across Florida.
Amaya White, mother of Melani Ava Mixson, is set to hold a news conference Tuesday outside the Bennett Creek Apartments, where Melani drowned Sept. 17, 2024.
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Melani, who was nonverbal, wandered away from her apartment community before being found in a nearby retention pond, according to her family. She was 2 years old.
The family has since filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging dangerous conditions surrounding the retention pond at Bennett Creek Apartments. The suit claims the unsecured pond failed to comply with mandatory safety regulations and alleges failures involving pond maintenance, safety inspections, warnings to residents, and hazardous side slopes around the water.
Children with autism face heightened drowning risk
Advocates at Tuesday’s news conference plan to highlight the particular dangers retention ponds pose to children with autism and other vulnerable populations — a group that includes Melani.
Experts say children with autism are known to be drawn to water and may lack awareness of its dangers, making unsecured water hazards especially life-threatening in residential communities.
Florida’s drowning crisis
May is National Water Safety Month, and families are preparing for increased exposure to pools, lakes, retention ponds, and vacation properties as summer travel picks up.
Florida regularly ranks among the states with the highest number of child drownings, and drowning remains a leading cause of accidental death for children ages 1–4 nationwide. Advocates say retention ponds — common features in Florida apartment complexes and residential developments — are an underrecognized part of that crisis.
A call to property owners
White and her attorney are urging apartment complexes, hotels, and property owners to recognize their responsibility in drowning prevention and take proactive steps to secure water hazards on their properties — before another child is lost.
For more information on drowning prevention, visit the National Drowning Prevention Alliance at NDPA.org.