‘My son didn’t deserve this’: Heartbroken mother says 4-year-old son drowned in a pond

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB/Gray News) - A Florida mother says she is heartbroken after her son drowned in a pond.

Taychianna Figueroa said her 4-year-old son Kash Waylan Hodges recently drowned in a retention pond behind the Oakwood Commons Shopping Center.

“No amount of money or materialistic things could ever fix this heartbreak. I can’t replace my son,” Figueroa said.

She said she left Kash with his father during a lunch break that day when the 4-year-old managed to leave through the front door and wandered into a nearby pond, where he fell.

“My heart sank when I saw his father pull him out of the water,” she said. “My son didn’t deserve this.”

Emergency workers reportedly performed CPR for 45 minutes, but Kash was pronounced deceased.

According to Figueroa, Kash was a bright, smart and happy child. Family and friends said they just celebrated his fourth birthday on Valentine’s Day.

“We’re all pretty much a small little family here and he’s going to be missed. This was a terrible tragedy,” said business owner Justin Dowdy.

WCJB reports that residents think the property owners should be held responsible for not having fencing around the pond.

Figueroa’s family and friends have started a GoFundMe account to help with Kash’s funeral costs.

“He’s supposed to bury us, we’re not supposed to bury him. We’re not supposed to go without him,” Figueroa said.

The family said a vigil is planned for Saturday to honor Kash.

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