Archbishop L. J. Guillory, Ombudsman General: Salutes An American Hero Mr. Stacy Robinson

FROM THE OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN GENERAL

For those of you who are wondering who is this man in the picture. For some of you may know about an incident occurred that a pregnant woman named Ebony Wilkerson attempted to drown her kids in a SUV in the ocean. He and another man saw and heard the kids scream for help and rescued the children. You see our hero carry the kids out of the car. Reason why I'm showing a photo of our hero is that mainstream media isn't giving this man credit to where it's due or showing his face that much. I think you and I know the answer to that. All I can say to our American Hero Stacy Robinson 'Thank You' for taking action instead of standing there doing nothing. Thank you for saving those children. Even though those kids are going to be haunted from what their mother did I pray that they will also remember that a hero risked his life and carried them as children to safety. Once again Stacy Robinson thank you

A man who helped pull three children from a sinking minivan said he tried to stop the mother from driving the vehicle in the into rough surf on a Florida beach, but she suddenly veered away and plowed into the water. Stacy Robinson, a sophomore at Seminole State College in Sanford, Fla., said he and his girlfriend were sitting in their car at the beach in Daytona Beach, Fla., when they saw a woman, who police have identified as Ebony Wilkerson, 32, from Cross, S.C., driving a minivan partly in the rough surf. "[My girlfriend] said what I thought was a joke and [I] was like, 'No, this is real', because after that her son came out the window, probably about waist high, screaming for help," Robinson said.

Robinson, 21, said he jumped out of his car and ran over to the minivan and started walking beside the vehicle, talking to the mother. "The son was snatching at the wheel, trying to get her to come back toward the shore and I was asking, I was like, 'What is going on, why are you driving on the water?' I said, 'you're going to get in trouble... you're not supposed to be doing this,'" Robinson said. "All she repeated is 'OK, We are OK, we are OK,'" Robinson said. "I was like, 'you've got to get out of the water. You're going to get in trouble. You got kids. You're scaring them. They're crying.' And she said, she was like, 'OK' as through she was coming back out the water and took off. She sped off." Robinson said he then ran into the pounding waves after the minivan, which started to sink. The mother, he said, had rolled up the car windows and locked the doors as the vehicle was rocked by waves and pulled deeper into the water. The kids -- ages 3, 9 and 10 -- were screaming for help. Robinson said one of the back windows was still cracked open and he was able to reach in and open the door. "That's when I snatched out the boy first and the little girl," he said. "Then I noticed the baby in the car seat... she was in the back behind the passenger seat." "Once I grabbed the little girl out, I saw [the mother], she began to climb out her window," Robinson continued. At this point, Robinson said other bystanders and lifeguards had arrived and helped rescue the 3-year-old and the mother from the sinking car, as he carried the two older children to safety.

"When I was speaking to her, her eyes were like... stretched, wide, wide open. She was saying, she was repeating she was 'OK'... that's when she sped off," Robinson said. Authorities said the mother was incoherent when they tried to speak with her and did not answer questions immediately after incident. Police today said at a news conference that family members called them Tuesday before the mother, who is pregnant, drove her minivan into the water, indicating they were concerned about her. Police made contact with her, but said the woman told them she was going to a domestic abuse shelter, and decided not to pursue further action. A few hours later, she drove her minivan into the water. Other bystanders on the beach watched as rescuers raced across the sand in an attempt to stop the minivan and help save the children.

The mother is currently hospitalized and is undergoing mental evaluation. No charges have been filed yet. The kids have been placed in the care of the child protective services, according to Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson.