Three small children were rescued by a group of life guards in a Daytona Beach, when their mother drove her van right into the ocean in what is presumably a suicide attempt.
According to first reports published by Orland newspaper, The Wesh, a 32-year-old pregnant woman identified as Ebony Wilkerson from South Carolina, drove her van at high speeds towards the sea in Daytona Beach.
Fortunately, life guards and people on the beach when the incident happened ran to try and stop the vehicle and pull out the children, aged 3, 9 and 10 who desperately screamed according to various witness statements.
The worrying moment in which various people pull the children out of the car and then get the truck away from the sea was recorded in a video by a Canadian tourist who was visiting Florida's beaches.
Moments before the suicidal act, Wilkerson's sister warned the police that she feared that her sister would hurt herself or her children; a group of police officers were sent to the woman's home; however, when they didn't find her, they were instructed to search for her black Honda Odyssey.
When they finally found it on the streets of Florida, Wilkerson told the officers that she was on her way to a shelter because she feared her husband might hurt her, and the officers let her go, according to the police report quoted by the NBC.
Witnesses said told the ABC that one of the children attempted to steer the vehicle while their mother drove towards the sea as the other children cried and screamed, and many people threw themselves against the van to try to stop it.
The pregnant woman and her three children were taken to the Halifax Health Medical Center for a medical checkup and to make sure they were out of danger.
So far, nobody knows why the woman attempted to drive towards the ocean with her children on board; however, police officers that interrogated Wilkerson after her car was rescued, said that the woman replied incoherently, and a mental crisis might be the motive.
Video via ABC.
ABC Entertainment News | ABC Business News
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