DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A South Carolina mom is undergoing mental health evaluation after she was captured on video driving her minivan with her three young children inside into the Atlantic Ocean Tuesday.
Investigators with the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office are working with the Florida Department of Children and Families to figure out what made the woman, who is believed to be pregnant, drive into the water.
“The van was floating and was almost completely submerged in the water,” deputies said.
The family had to be rescued from the surf by lifeguards and bystanders as the Honda Odyssey bobbed in the waves. Rescuers opened the doors and the trunk to quickly climb in and grab the woman and her children.
One child — a toddler — was still strapped into a booster seat.
Deputies say the woman, whose name has not been released, was driving south near the beach approach on Silver Beach Avenue in Daytona Beach just before 5 p.m.
A lifeguard noticed that the woman was driving erratically on the sand. The van was moving parallel to the waterline in the surf when the woman suddenly turned the steering wheel east and drove into the water, deputies said.
That’s when lifeguards and bystanders jumped into action. All four were taken to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach for treatment.
No one suffered any serious injuries.
The children — two girls and a boy, all under 10 — are now in DCF custody as their mother’s mental health is evaluated and deputies determine if criminal charges are appropriate.
Beach safety officers tied a rope to the van and were able to tow it out of the water.
