A 57-year-old woman has died in New York after her car plunged into a pond this week, sheriffs said.
After driving into the water on Wednesday, Sept. 24, the victim, identified as Robin Sardone, was able to call 911 herself shortly after 4 a.m. local time, Wayne County Sheriff Robert Milby tells PEOPLE.
Milby says the incident occurred during foggy conditions, which could have affected Sardone’s visibility.
The Democrat and Chronicle reported that Sardone did not stop at a stop sign and her car crossed through an intersection, after which she drove into the pond. Her 911 call cut off as her car went under.
A few minutes after her call, around 4:10 a.m., police and sheriff’s deputies arrived. Around 4:17 a.m., a firefighter with water gear entered the pond to try to locate her, Milby tells PEOPLE.
In addition to the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, the village of Palmyra Police Department, South Macedon Fire and Rescue, Macedon Center Fire Department and Macedon Town Ambulance responded to the incident, Milby says.
Around 5:05 a.m., a dive team from the sheriff’s office arrived and spent over two hours searching for Sardone. They also used a remotely operated vehicle equipped with sonar, but their efforts were hindered by an “extreme” amount of plant life in the pond, Milby says.
Hours later, around 7:40 a.m., a diver located Sardone’s body inside her vehicle in the pond.
“She was not able to self-extricate,” Milby told the Democrat and Chronicle.
Milby tells PEOPLE an investigation into the crash is still ongoing, and notes that an autopsy will determine Sardone’s official cause and manner of death.
Rev. Jim Trimble from St. John’s Episcopal Church in Honeoye Falls told ABC affiliate WHAM that Sardone leaves behind a daughter who was “her world.”
“They were new to the church and wanted to know so much more about their faith,” Trimble told the station. “Robin and I would have discussions frequently. [She was] asking really good questions and never accepting stock answers.”
Chris Baron, a fellow churchgoer, told WHAM that Sardone “was kind, caring and friendly.”
Baron added, “She loved dancing, she loved going to the state fair, she loved boating, she was always proud of her daughter’s accomplishments. She was one of my best friends, and I’m certainly going to miss her.”
Anna Engstrom, a friend of Sardone’s, told the station there will be a “long healing process” after the sudden loss.
“We’re going to have to take baby steps, first honoring her faith and then figuring out how to support her daughter moving forward,” Engstrom said to WHAM.