ROCKLAND (AP) – A lobster fisherman whose mother was driving a vehicle that went off a cliff and plunged into an ice-covered quarry said Friday he is trying to hire someone to recover her body from the 100-foot-deep water after police refused to dispatch divers until spring.

“My mother was a good woman,” said Justin Dennison, 28, who was prepared to commit $8,000 to the recovery effort. “She doesn’t deserve to be left in a quarry in the middle of the winter.”

Police on Friday identified Llynne Haskins as the driver of the Chevy Blazer that disappeared into the quarry Thursday near the Limerock Street-Old County Road intersection. A witness told police she saw the SUV go over a stone barrier at the side of the road and fall through the ice.

Rockland police Sgt. Jeff McLaughlin said snowy weather, road conditions and speed probably contributed to the accident which took place as Haskins, who lived near the abandoned quarry, was driving her sick cat to a veterinarian.

Dennison said police were too quick to put the blame on speed and suggested that Haskins’ Blazer may have been hit by another vehicle that fled the scene. Dennison said he found red paint all over the guard rail near the spot where his mother’s blue and gray blazer broke through.

“They’re not investigating,” he said. “They’ve already talked it up that my mother was speeding.”

Police could not be reached for comment late Friday.

Dennison said he showed up at City Hall with $8,000 in cash to pay for the recovery of his mother’s body but was told that the city could not accept the money.

Police Chief Alfred Ockenfels said the state police dive team looked at the accident scene and determined that the depth of the water, the cold weather and the ice made it too dangerous to attempt a recovery at this time.

“We’re exploring other options, perhaps having a private salvage company, or the insurance company securing a private salvage company, to go in and assist us in retrieving the body and the vehicle,” he said.

McLaughlin said it appeared that the vehicle rolled over on Old County Road before striking the guardrail and flipping over the barrier between the road and quarry. It’s about a 100-foot drop to its ice-covered surface, and another 105 feet to the bottom of the abandoned limerock quarry.

Police initially withheld the victim’s name until the family was notified. Items found at the crash scene helped police identify the woman, McLaughlin said.

A hole in the ice about 8 feet in diameter was visible at the bottom of the sheer rock face of the quarry. The hole was beginning to ice over by the time a state police dive team left the scene at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, five hours after the vehicle crashed through.

Matt Grant, commander of the state police dive team, said he understood that delaying the recovery would be difficult for the victim’s family, but he did not want to risk divers’ safety on a difficult mission.

“We decided that the recovery effort is best left for another date, until ice and weather conditions improve,” Grant said. “The safest and most effective plan is to wait until it’s going to be an open water environment for recovery of that vehicle.”