Mother Who Drove Minivan Full of Children into Surf Undergoing Mental Evaluation

Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson said at a news conference Wednesday the woman, identified as 32-year-old Ebony Wilkerson, of South Carolina, was still in the hospital undergoing a mental evaluation and had not yet been questioned by police.

Johnson said Daytona Beach police spoke to Wilkerson hours before the incident after a family member contacted them out of concern that Wilkerson was talking about “demons.”

“I tried to take her to the hospital yesterday and she signed herself out today,” Willkerson’s sister said in the 911 call. “She is doing a little bit better, but she is still not all here. But she is trying to drive and I’m trying to stop her and she has her kids and I took her keys.”

According to a police report, Wilkerson said she was going to an abuse shelter and feared her ex-husband would find them in Florida and harm them. She also told police she was going to her “safe place.”

Police said although it appeared she was suffering from some form of mental illness, they had no reason to take her into custody. The report was taken at 3:14 p.m. on Tuesday.

“She said she was heading to an abuse shelter and at that time they could not do anything with her,” Johnson said. “But then two hours later it had escalated to this.”

Volusia County Beach Patrol said one of the lifeguards witnessed the van driving outside of the traffic lane near the Silver Beach approach at around 5 p.m. Tuesday, causing concern. When Beach Patrol arrived, two bystanders were already in the water trying to get the family out of the vehicle, officials said.

One of the bystanders, Stacy Robinson, was on the beach with his girlfriend.

“First, we thought it was a joke, until we saw a little boy hanging out of the window, and he was trying to flag someone down for help,” Robinson told Local 6.

Robinson said before he rescued the children he talked to Wilkerson through the van window. She told him she was fine, but then he said she accelerated into the ocean. He said he reached in the window for the children.

“I’m hitting buttons, then finally the back window came down,” Robinson said. “That’s when I reached in and grabbed the son first and the daughter second.”

“When we entered the water to rescue her she was out of the van already and she was acting inappropriate,” said Mark Swanson with Volusia County Beach Patrol. “She wasn’t answering questions appropriately.”