US mum who drove kids into ocean 'insane'

A US mother was insane when she drove her three children into the ocean and therefore not guilty of child abuse, a Florida judge has determined.

Prosecutors, in turn, dropped three attempted murder counts against Ebony Wilkerson.

After ruling that Wilkerson, 33, was not guilty by reason of insanity of the three child-abuse counts, Judge Leah Case ordered a hearing next week to determine whether the woman should be involuntarily hospitalised for treatment or released with court supervision.

The judge and lawyers said the plea and subsequent hearing were rare.

The deal between prosecutors and Wilkerson's lawyers was reached this week after a psychologist hired by prosecutors agreed with a defence psychologist that Wilkerson had a psychotic break during the incident.

Wilkerson drove her van into the surf off Daytona Beach in March.

Bystanders and officers pulled her and her children from the van.

Immediately after driving into the ocean, a then-pregnant Wilkerson told a Daytona Beach safety officer that she was abused by her husband, accusations he later denied. She gave birth to her son after her arrest, and her husband took custody of the child. The other children are in state custody, and she has been denied permission to see them.

During next week's hearing, the judge will consider testimony and depositions from psychologists who evaluated Wilkerson in the weeks after her arrest.