Florida

Prosecutors Seek Evaluation of Mom Who Drove Van Into Ocean

State prosecutors want to hire a psychiatric expert to evaluate the South Carolina mother who drove her minivan into the surf off a Florida beach with her children inside.

The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports a hearing that began June 8 on the state's motion to revoke Ebony Wilkerson's conditional release and send her back to a state hospital has been delayed while prosecutors seek the expert evaluation.

The motion says Wilkerson's defense lawyers aren't opposing the evaluation. Wilkerson, of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, was pregnant when she drove the van into the Atlantic Ocean on March 4, 2014. Beachgoers helped rescue her three young children.

She was found not guilty by reason of insanity and ordered to a state hospital. Officials say she stopped taking her medication and had a psychotic episode in May.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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