By Jennifer Edwards
The Cincinnati Enquirer

WEST CHESTER TWP. - The Mason man found submerged in his SUV in a pond early Wednesday was probably intoxicated at the time of the crash, West Chester police Sgt. Barry Walker said today.

Marion Jackie Roe, 48, was arrested for driving while intoxicated in 1978 and 1986 in Lebanon and was driving on a suspended license at the time of his death, Walker said.

Roe's license was suspended Oct. 1, 2002 by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles because he did not comply with a proof of insurance requirement, Walker said.

An autopsy this morning determined Roe's death was consistent with drowning, said Andy Willis, a coroner's investigator. However, the death certificate had not yet been signed, he added.

Divers place markers near possible evidence at the wreckage of a Chevy Blazer that crashed in a West Chester pond Wednesday. (Michael Snyder photo) | ZOOM |

There were no signs of foul play on the body. Preliminary toxicology reports on Roe are due back Friday.

A traffic crash investigation is underway but results aren't expected until next week.

A resident of The Fairways at Wetherington walking her dog spotted Roe's green Chevy Blazer in the pond about 8 a.m. Wednesday. She called a Wetherington board member, who alerted police.

It is estimated that Roe died between 10:45 p.m. and 11:15 p.m. Tuesday, Willis said.

West Chester police say his vehicle was headed northbound on Tylers Place Boulevard about 11 p.m. when it went left of center, hitting the curb and two trees before going over an embankment and plunging into the pond.

West Chester detectives and divers from the Butler County Sheriff's Office spent much of Wednesday morning gathering evidence and searching the pond to be sure more bodies weren't submerged.

Roe was found in the back seat of the vehicle and was not wearing a seat belt, Police Chief John Bruce said.

Neighbors in Fairways, a condo complex next to the Wetherington golf course, were shocked.

Two women said they heard a "terrible noise" about 11 p.m. Tuesday but assumed it came from I-75. A third woman passed by on her way home at 1 a.m. and said she didn't notice it.

"From now on I'll be more careful and look," said Pat Erving, 50.

E-mail jedwards@enquirer.com.