A Jacksonville mother is turning her grief into a public fight, planning a news conference Tuesday outside the Bennett Creek Apartments where her 2-year-old daughter drowned in a retention pond last year. Her family has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit and is calling on apartment owners, hotels and other property managers to secure retention ponds and similar water hazards that they say put children, especially those with autism and other vulnerabilities, at particular risk. Their push lands during National Water Safety Month, as advocates warn that child drowning remains a stubborn and deadly problem in Florida.
According to News4JAX, Amaya White says her daughter, Melani Ava Mixson, wandered away from the Bennett Creek community on Sept. 17, 2024, and was later found in a nearby retention pond. The station reports the family’s lawsuit claims the pond was not properly secured and did not meet mandatory safety regulations, citing hazardous side slopes, poor maintenance and a lack of warnings to residents.
As reported by Action News Jax, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office personnel found Melani in the water, and first responders tried to save her before she was taken to a hospital and later pronounced dead. Family members told the station that Melani was nonverbal and in the process of being evaluated for autism, which they say left her especially vulnerable around unguarded water.
Children With Autism Face Heightened Risk Around Water
Public health organizations note that children with autism are more likely to wander and may be drawn to water for its sensory appeal. The CDC reports that drowning is a leading cause of injury death for children ages 1 through 4. The National Drowning Prevention Alliance adds that many child drownings happen during non-swim times, underscoring the need for physical barriers and multiple layers of protection around any water feature.
What The Lawsuit Alleges
The family’s wrongful-death complaint, as summarized by News4JAX, alleges failures in retention-pond maintenance and safety inspections, inadequate warnings to residents and side slopes that made the water too easy to access. White and her attorney are urging apartment managers and other property owners to immediately secure ponds and similar on-site water hazards.
Florida's Larger Drowning Problem
State legislative analyses show that Florida consistently records some of the nation’s highest child-drowning numbers, with reports listing about 106 child drownings in 2024 and roughly 119 in 2025. In response, the state has rolled out the WaterSmartFL swimming-lesson voucher program through the Florida Department of Health as one prevention tool. Lawmakers and advocates continue to debate additional measures; for program details see WaterSmartFL and a related Florida Senate analysis.
What Cities And Property Owners Can Do
City planning documents note that many stormwater and retention ponds in Jacksonville are privately owned, which complicates oversight and leads to a patchwork of safety practices. The City of Jacksonville’s Resilient Jacksonville materials recommend targeted partnerships and infrastructure retrofits around water systems. Advocates say straightforward steps for apartment complexes include secure fencing, steeper or better-protected shorelines, improved lighting, alarms and regular safety checks by management.
Legal Implications
A wrongful-death lawsuit can open the door to inspections, a review of maintenance records and, if negligence is proven, settlements or court-ordered changes in how a property is managed. Attorneys who have handled similar cases told Action News Jax that property owners have been held liable in past drownings when they failed to secure water hazards or adequately warn residents.
White’s planned news conference on Tuesday is expected to increase pressure on local property managers and elected officials while the family continues to seek answers in court. Advocates say a combination of policy changes, from clearer maintenance standards to public swim vouchers, alongside basic on-the-ground fixes at apartment complexes, is the clearest path to preventing more tragedies around Jacksonville’s many retention ponds.
