Mom who drove kids into ocean could return to state custody, officials say

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Ebony Wilkerson drove her minivan onto Daytona Beach in 2014, and then into the surf with her three children inside.

She has been receiving care for her mental health at a residential facility in Lake Wales, but the Florida State Attorney’s Office filed a motion Tuesday to take her back into state custody.

The motion states that “Ebony Wilkerson drove herself to the Lake Wales Medical Center due to a psychotic episode" last Wednesday.

Officials said she even attempted to leave with several nurses following her, trying to stop her.

Wilkerson was found not guilty by reason of insanity on charges stemming from the Daytona Beach incident, which was caught on camera by tourists and made national news.

When the minivan hit the water, bystanders and police were able to pull the woman and her children out and no one was hurt.

But her conditional release to the mental health treatment facility came into question after staff contacted police Wednesday, officials said.

According to the state attorney's motion, Lake Wales’ staff counted Wilkerson’s pills and determined that she was not taking her medication.

They believe she stopped taking the medication three weeks before last Wednesday's psychotic episode.

Wilkerson recently asked a judge for supervised visitation with her children, who live with her husband.

The request was denied.

Cox Media Group