A Florida mother is sharing her story after her young son drowned in a retention pond at an apartment complex.
Kai Goodlander was 3 when he became submerged in the pond in January 2024, CBS Orlando reported. Nearly two years later, in December 2025, his mother, Autumn Goodlander, spoke with the local outlet, remembering her “perfect” son and recounting how the tragedy happened.
Autumn told CBS Orlando that her boyfriend at the time was in another room folding laundry when Kai slipped out the front door. “What really did him in, though, is that he closed the door behind him,” she said.
Autumn was at work when the incident occurred. She said she learned what happened at the hospital.
“The doctor came in and was like, ‘There’s nothing we can do for him,’” she recalled to CBS Orlando. “And I said, ‘What do you mean?’ And he said, ‘Your son’s gone.’”
Later, Autumn said she began piecing together where Kai could have gone in their community.
“I knew that the only body of water he had access to in that community was that retention pond,” she told CBS Orlando.
Autumn ultimately pursued legal action with The Haggard Law Firm, which said in a news release that the retention pond where Kai drowned “was not meant to hold water at all.”
The firm alleged it “was actually a dry detention pond” — a manmade depression designed to temporarily store stormwater runoff and then drain it.
Huntington Reserve Apartments and its management company, TPI Management Services, reached a $15.5 million settlement with Autumn in October 2025, Haggard Law Firm said in its news release.
In a statement, the firm said, “There was no reason this tragedy should have occurred. Proper maintenance and adherence to safety standards could have saved Kai’s life.” It was not clear whether Huntington Reserve Apartments or TPI Management Services acknowledged or denied liability as part of the settlement.
Autumn told CBS Orlando she is still speaking out in hopes of preventing another child from dying in a similar way. “I would like to see people put up perimeters around these retention ponds,” she said.
According to CBS Orlando, citing attorneys, Huntington Reserve Apartments has since installed a fence around the retention pond as part of the settlement.
Huntington Reserve Apartments and TPI Management Services did not respond to a request for comment.
