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Two escape truck that sank in Toms River; dog dies

A pickup truck crashed through the icy surface of the Toms River early Sunday, setting off an intense search for its occupants, who turned themselves in unharmed more than 12 hours later at police headquarters, authorities said.

A pickup truck crashed through the icy surface of the Toms River early Sunday, setting off an intense search for its occupants, who turned themselves in unharmed more than 12 hours later at police headquarters, authorities said.

But the dog belonging to the man police identified as the driver was not so lucky.

Shortly before 3 p.m., state police recovered the body of a pet boxer mix that had been trapped in the submerged truck since it sank shortly after midnight.

State police and Coast Guard rescue crews spent much of the day searching for the men with helicopters and dive teams, state police Sgt. First Class Gregory Williams said.

Andrew Mayer, 27, drove the white pickup onto the ice sometime after midnight with Daniel Jolly, 25, riding in the passenger seat, Williams said. The two men, both of Toms River, were interviewed but no charges had been filed by Sunday evening, and the incident remained under investigation, he said.

Witnesses reported seeing at least one person get out of the vehicle before it went through the ice, according to NJ.com, but the occupants' fate was unclear until state police divers got through a hole in the ice in the afternoon to see the truck up close.

The truck broke through the ice at some point soon after midnight. Witnesses reported that someone drove the vehicle out onto the ice and started to do "doughnuts," Toms River police first reported.

Crews from the state police and the Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City searched in vain until about 2 a.m. and resumed the search at first light, Coast Guard Petty Officer Nick Ameen said.

The truck was found underwater soon after 10 a.m., officials said.

The first clue came when a Coast Guard helicopter pilot saw a hole in the ice, Ameen said.

A Coast Guard rescue swimmer was able to see the truck underwater with its windows up and doors closed, Ameen said.

Crews could not immediately see whether anyone was in the vehicle because the windows were tinted, Williams said.

A witness apparently phoned in an initial report of the incident soon after midnight, Ameen said.

"They noticed a truck driving on the ice and saw the lights disappear," he said.