Jacksonville mom calls for retention pond safety after toddler drowning: ‘Could happen to anyone’

A Jacksonville mother who lost her toddler in a retention pond drowning in 2024 is urging stronger retention pond safety measures as summer begins.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — As families head into the unofficial start of summer and spend more time near pools, lakes and ponds, a Jacksonville mother is renewing her call for stronger water safety measures after losing her toddler daughter in an accidental drowning.

In a press conference Tuesday, Amaya White fought through emotion as she remembered her daughter, two-year-old Melani Ava Mixson.

This story continues below.

More in Local

“She was a baby who could bring the darkness out of somebody,” White said. “Whenever I ask for a kiss she’ll come up to me and go…” she said, pausing to demonstrate the gesture her daughter used to make.

Melani drowned in September 2024 after wandering away from her family’s home at the Bennett Creek Apartments in Jacksonville, according to police and family members.

White says her daughter, who had autism and was nonverbal, left the apartment after opening the front door. The family says the lock on the apartment door was broken. 

Now, nearly two years later and during National Water Safety Month, White said she wants families, apartment communities and property owners to think differently about the dangers retention ponds can pose, especially to children.

“I don’t want to see this happen to any other families,” White said. “It could happen to anyone. I don’t want it to happen to anyone else. This should be the last problem.”

White is calling for additional safety measures around retention ponds, including fencing, saying she worries when she sees children playing near the water.

“It doesn’t make me feel good at all,” White said. “It would make me feel a lot better if there was a fence around it. They play football, they play soccer, there’s so much that could happen. It’s an accident that literally could just happen.”

Her attorney, Adam Finkel, said the concern goes beyond one apartment complex.

“Summer is around the corner,” Finkel said. “Children are going to be running around this complex and every other apartment complex throughout Jacksonville that has a retention pond.”

The family filed a lawsuit on June 17, 2025, against the owners and managers of Bennett Creek Apartments, alleging negligence contributed to Melani’s death.

The defendants named in the lawsuit are Bowden Road Housing, Ltd., which allegedly owned, managed and operated Bennett Creek Apartments; Richman Property Services, Inc., which allegedly managed and operated the property; and The Lake Doctors, Inc., described in court filings as the aquatic expert servicing the retention pond.

The lawsuit was filed by Melani’s great-grandmother, Frankie Washington, and Robert Hines, acting as co-personal representatives.

Court filings accuse the defendants of failing to maintain a safe property, including allegations that the retention pond was unsecured, inadequately monitored, noncompliant with safety regulations and featured dangerous side slopes that increased drowning risks. The complaint also alleges inspection failures, warning residents of dangers and maintaining the pond according to approved standards. The family also alleges the apartment’s front door lock was broken, allowing the toddler to leave the residence.

The family is seeking more than $50,000 in damages, including compensation for the mother’s past and future mental pain and suffering, funeral expenses and medical care rendered to the child.

The plaintiffs are requesting a jury trial.

First Coast News reached out to the defendants for comment but had not received a response before publication. We will continue to keep you updated.