DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Court supervision conditions for the woman who drove a van with her three children inside into the Atlantic Ocean in Daytona Beach in 2014 were loosened by a judge on Friday.
Ebony Wilkerson’s three children survived when strangers on the beach jumped into the water to rescue them.
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The judge commended Wilkerson, who is in treatment for bipolar disorder, for her progress related to her mental health. He said she has been relapse-free for four years.
“I don’t want to minimize your efforts,” the judge said to Wilkerson. “...I want to relieve some of the burden from you but I’m not ready to let you go completely.”
The judge ruled that Wilkerson will no longer be directly monitored by the court, but indirectly by medical staff.
READ: ‘I’ve been through a lot’: Mom who drove van full of kids into ocean talks exclusively to WFTV
The judge ruled that she will have to sign a release that allows her mental health providers to report back to the court that Wilkerson is taking her medication and getting counseling. The conditions are set to last for 24 months.
He said there will be no intervention as long as the doctors report she is doing well and continuing her treatments.
“I’m going to put your own mental health in your own hands,” the judge said.
READ: Judge: Woman accused of driving kids into Atlantic Ocean no longer involuntary committed
When Channel 9 Volusia County reporter Michael Springer spoke with Wilkerson in 2018, she was in a residential treatment center in Volusia County as part of a court-ordered program to help treat her bipolar disorder.
In 2018, Wilkerson said she hoped if she continued to progress, the courts would allow her to be reunited with her family in South Carolina.
Watch Springer’s 2018 interview with Wilkerson below:
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