IndyStar Talks to WKW Client on Low-Head Dam Safety

A tragedy is doubly hard on survivors when it could easily have been avoided. This is the case for Wilson Kehoe Winingham client Amanda Malott, who filed a lawsuit against New Albany, Indiana, after her 14-year-old son drowned near Silver Creek dam.

According to his mother, Andre “AJ” Edwards Jr. went to the creek with friends in May 2024. Less than an hour after he left, officers informed Malott that AJ hadn’t resurfaced after jumping off the low-head dam into Silver Creek. His body was recovered after an extensive search.

This isn’t the first low-head dam drowning in Indiana. The tragedy comes after a previous lawsuit filed by the families of two kayakers who drowned at the Emrichsville Dam, claiming city officials were aware of the dam’s “lethal danger” but failed to install adequate warning signs.

Malott’s lawsuit seeks accountability and awareness of low-head dams, which the Indiana Department of Natural Resources’ Ken Smith called “drowning machines” in a PBS documentary.

“How can you have something that the Indiana government acknowledges as a perfect drowning machine available for the public, small children, to recreate around?” said Jon Noyes, the Wilson Kehoe Winingham attorney representing Malott.

The government officials in the surrounding area have denied all counts in the suit, including ownership, operation, or control of the dam, say documents filed with the Marion Superior Court.

Read IndyStar WKW low-head dam safety story
Kyle Schneider and Sophie Hartley, Indianapolis Star

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