FL - Ebony Wilkerson drove kids into ocean, Daytona Beach, March 2014 *Insanity*

Blue_Dolphin308

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. —
Authorities have not yet decided whether charges will be fired against a woman who drove a minivan with her children inside into the ocean in Daytona Beach on Tuesday.
Bystanders and officers helped pull the pregnant woman, identified as Ebony Wilkerson, and her children -- ages 3, 9 and 10 -- from their minivan after it became nearly submerged in the Atlantic surf Tuesday afternoon.

http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/family-rescued-after-van-goes-ocean-daytona-beach/nd5tk/

Another video

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2014/03/05/newday-dunnan-car-stuck-in-ocean.cnn.html


Mom is in Mental hospital getting an evaluation. Witness's say that Mom had a blank look on her face, while driving into the ocean. One of the kids was trying to fight for the steering wheel. Kids were screaming that mom was trying to kill them. Mom bailed from the van, and did not even attempt to let rescuers know that there were kids in the back. Mom is from South Carolina. No charges have been laid yet. Mom refusing to speak with investigators.
 
Ugghh So sad, just watched this on the news. I hope the kids have a loving home to go to while Mom gets the help that she desperately needs.
 
wow I just watched the video on inside edition, the terror those 2 boys were feeling when being carried away from their sister came across loud and clear! prayers to them and their family!!
 
Police were at moms house 2 hours before this, because of concerns from the family. They found no reason to detain her, and she was given information on a shelter.

Not sure how this fits in with her living in South Carolina.
 
Just wow - help or no help, how could she ever be trusted alone with these children again? Very scarey...
 
Just wow - help or no help, how could she ever be trusted alone with these children again? Very scarey...

I agree, Iirc she is pregnant. Good thing it was daytime Reminds me of the story last year were the mother pushed her baby in it's stroller into the surf and walked away. Jmo

ciao
 
This is very disturbing. Those poor kids will carry this nightmare through their lives.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com..._ocean-south-carolina-mother-canadian-tourist

http://www.insideedition.com/headlines/7905-mom-drives-kids-into-ocean

Mom who drove van into ocean talked about demons hours before, family says

"She's talking about Jesus, that there's demons in the house," said her sister. "She's got the kids in the car with her."

Listen: Woman tells 911 dispatcher about sister's off behavior

Wilkerson's sister told police she didn't think her sister would harm her children, but that she was "acting odd."

Police pulled Wilkerson over to do a well being check, but Wilkerson did not act in a way that would have allowed law enforcement to take her into custody, and she did not meet Baker Act requirements.

"If she made any statements that she was suicidal or homicidal officers would have taken her into custody," said Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson.

http://www.wesh.com/news/central-fl...a-beach-authorities-say/24804232#mid=18511854
 
Ebony Wilkerson, a 32-year-old from South Carolina, had been talking about “demons” just hours before driving her black Honda Odyssey into the surf shortly before 5 p.m. in front of horrified onlookers, according to Daytona Beach police.

http://www.wnd.com/2014/03/pregnant-mom-drives-minivan-of-kids-into-ocean/

Bless the tourist and lifeguards who came to the rescue!! :loveyou:

From what I glean, there was prior warning and she was administered meds which may have had an impact. :twocents:
 
Tesseneer said he initially spotted the minivan as it drove across the dunes of Daytona Beach.

At first, Tesseneer, who lives in Rutherfordton, N.C., thought the driver was on a joyride.

"All I could think about was Susan Smith," Tesseneer said — referring to another South Carolina woman who was convicted of murder after she confessed to rolling her car into a lake with her two young children inside it in 1994.

What happened next was captured on video by a Canadian tourist:

Incredibly, officers had spoken to Wilkerson just 2½ hours earlier, after a relative pleaded with police to check on the woman's well-being.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/our-mom-trying-kill-us-hero-recounts-ocean-rescue-n44731

Personally I want to thank our Hero and lifeguards who acted quickly to save these children.
 
Thank God for observant and fast acting citizens.

A similar situation happened here 4 years ago. Grandma drove the car directly into a deep, fast moving river with 2 grandchildren on board. She then dove out of the car and made no attempt to let rescuers know that kids were in the car. They were unable to save the kids.
 
Police were at moms house 2 hours before this, because of concerns from the family. They found no reason to detain her, and she was given information on a shelter.

Not sure how this fits in with her living in South Carolina.

I just saw this on the news and they stated that the sister called police and they pulled the mom over, but couldn't detain her. So, did they also go to her house before she went into the ocean?
 

Boy, after listening to the 911 call from the sister/relative, I am very upset - it seems as thought the 911 operator was moving in slow motion! Last year in Winnipeg, we had a woman suffering from Post Partum depression who drowned her two children and then killed herself. She had gone to her physician's the day before, and told him that she wanted to be hospitalized -- they tried to do it but there were no hospital beds available. The next morning, her husband left her alone for a few minutes after he went to work and before a relative arrived. it was during that short time period that the woman killed her children and left the home. They hound her body a day or two later - she had drowned in the river, an apparent suicide.

IMO there is very little understanding of Postpartum depression or psychosis and there are no special protocols to deal with pregnant women reacting in non-normal ways. The children of such women should be protected ASAP until an evaluation is done. Thank God these children were rescued and are okay!
 
If she had previous mental health issues (depression, etc...), and was taking medication for it, her doctor may have either taken her off the meds or switched the meds, as many of those are very dangerous to take while pregnant.

Not weaning off of them correctly can cause some very, very bad reactions.

I hope that she is getting the help that she needs, and am glad that physically, she and the kids are okay. It's going to be a long road trying to recover from the mental/emotional part of this for all of them - very sad :(
 
The near-tragedy yesterday reminded me of a local (metro Detroit) case in which a father drove his family into the Detroit River. The case is mentioned in this more recent article about another individual who drove a vehicle into the river.

...The sad scene brought back memories for many of the 1989 murders of four children. Lawrence Delisle drove his car into the river to kill his wife and kids. The wife survived. Delisle is spending the rest of his life in prison.

"People in this community remember the Delisle case because with the innocent children that were killed in that vehicle, that was a very sad case, and a lot of people were thinking of that right away," Grant remarked...


Read more: http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/2...ody-from-truck-in-detroit-river#ixzz2vCqeJNOc
 

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