Police ID Newtown Woman Among Dead Found In Jeep Submerged In Pond

NEWTOWN, CT — Police have identified a Newtown woman as the passenger found dead inside a Jeep Cherokee that ended up in an Easton pond Sunday.

Jesus M. Roman, 35 of Easton was driving the Jeep, and his passenger was identified as Amy L. Rockwell, 45 of Newtown, according to a statement released Tuesday afternoon by the Easton Police Department.

Police found the pair inside the Jeep, partially submerged in the pond on Stepney Road near Church Road and tipped onto the driver's side. After extricating them, police and fire personnel pronounced them both dead at the scene. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner was summoned to the scene to assist.

According to a preliminary report from the Fairfield Police Crash Reconstruction Team, the 1995 Jeep Cherokee was traveling westward on Route 59 when it crossed over the double yellow line. At one point after crossing the driveway to Christ Church, the vehicle became airborne, before coming to final rest on its drivers side in the pond just outside of the church property and parallel to Route 59.

"There were no signs of braking during the collision sequence and [the Jeep] was the only vehicle involved in the collision. The vehicle did not strike any object other than grass and pond shrubbery and there were no signs of foul play," according to Easton Police Chief Richard Doyle.

A specific timeframe of the collision is unknown, but is expected to have occurred in the overnight hours., according to Doyle. The EPD were first notified about the Jeep in the pond by a 911 call made by a passerby at about 6:40 a.m.

The cause and manner of death remains under investigation pending results from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner