JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The family of a Jacksonville toddler who drowned in a retention pond in October is now suing the Southside apartment complex where it happened, alleging negligence.
Precious memories of 2-year-old Musiq Jordan-Dye are all her family has to hold onto after she was reported missing in October and was later pulled from a pond at the Paradise Island Apartments.
Her family is now suing. saying the complex, along Southside Boulevard, just off I-95, has a duty to residents and guests to maintain the pond in a reasonably safe manner.
The family says the complex’s managers and owner didn’t do enough to prevent the little girl’s tragic death.
In their lawsuit, the child’s family said not only was there no gate or fence around the pond, but they say there was a dangerous side slope, which increased the risk of drowning. The complaint says the side slope was steeper than what is legally allowed under statute.
The family is holding a news conference at 10:30 a.m. to formally announce the lawsuit.
They say they want to prevent something similar from happening again.
Musiq is one of several small children who recently drowned in retention ponds around Jacksonville.
Those deaths led to calls for change and prompted a public information campaign.
The city of Jacksonville says there are 235 city-managed retention ponds in Jacksonville, but the vast majority of them are within neighborhoods and are privately owned and maintained by individual homeowners or the Homeowners Association.
The city urges parents and caregivers to keep children supervised, contact the city if they see something in a pond or if they see someone dumping in a pond or to call the city if they see an extremely high water levels.
Musiq’s family is suing for damages in excess of $50,000.
News4JAX has requested comment from the housing complex.
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