JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville mother and her attorney are calling for urgent safety changes at a local apartment complex more than a year after a young girl drowned in a retention pond on the property.
Melani Ava Mixson, 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.
On Tuesday, her mother and a family attorney held a news conference at the complex, demanding management address what they describe as ongoing safety violations.
‘Something must be done’
The family’s attorney said the pond’s current condition does not match how it was originally designed. He said the land surrounding the water was once gradual, with native plants along the bank to prevent erosion and limit access. That’s no longer the case…