2 Teenage Boys Die After Falling Through Ice In New Jersey

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — Two teenage boys died after they fell through ice on ponds in separate incidents Wednesday night in Middlesex County.

In Carteret, 15-year-old David Tillberg died after he and a friend fell into the partially frozen Carteret Pond around 5 p.m.

And in East Brunswick, around that same time, three boys fell into a pond behind police headquarters. Two of the boys made it out, but the third, an unnamed 13-year-old, did not survive. Police and firefighters formed a human chain to pull him out, and several first responders had to be hospitalized for hypothermia after trying to save him, said East Brunswick police. The boy was pronounced dead at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday.

On Thursday, the aunt of one of the boys had this message:

"Parents should tell their kids again and again: Don't walk on a frozen lake or pond,"said Nicole Alexich, the aunt of David Tillberg. "Please tell your kids that. They can be the best kid, and they do one small thing. Everything changes in an instant."

Alexich, who lives in New Jersey, is the sister of David Tillberg's mother, Natalie Santiago. The family lives in Carteret, just a few blocks from Carteret Park, where the accident took place.

"He was supposed to go skateboarding with his friends," the aunt told Patch. "He was a shy kid and just coming out of his shell, so that's why my sister said OK, because she's usually very protective."

But she said her sister got a bad feeling when she heard sirens wailing.

"My sister went to pick up her daughter, and she saw a fire truck and ambulance going by," Alexich said. "She said she got a bad feeling. She went over to the park to see what was going on. She got there and said, 'I'm looking for my son.' They told her to wait."

Tillberg and a friend, another teen boy, both students at Carteret High School, had decided to venture onto the seemingly frozen small pond. At 5:07 p.m., the ice gave way, and both fell in.

His friend was able to pull himself out, but Tillberg could not. First responders from all over Middlesex County descended on Carteret Park, but it took rescue workers nearly an hour to pull him from the water. He was rushed to University Hospital in Newark and died there Thursday morning.

"They couldn't find him for at least an hour, maybe 45 minutes," his aunt said. "After they finally did find him, they worked on him for eight-plus hours last night. I mean, they really tried. They did everything they could."

Hauntingly, Tillberg made one final entry to his SnapChat account Wednesday night, she said: He is pictured in the dark, with the caption "On the ice baby."

"He SnapChatted the picture probably minutes before," said his aunt, who started a GoFundMe campaign to help the family pay for funeral expenses.

She reiterated her plea to parents to talk about ice safety.

"You think it's common sense not to do that, to walk on ice, but kids are kids," she said. "They just want to have fun and look cool. They might do something risky like that without thinking. And now our family and another family ... "

She was overcome by tears.

"I just want everyone to know he was such a perfect kid," she continued. "He always listened to his mom and in school. He loved to play Fortnite and video games. He was a goofball. He was shy. He was everything to us."

"Heartbroken by the death of two New Jersey teenagers who fell through ice in two separate incidents," Gov. Phil Murphy said Thursday. "Please stay off and away from frozen lakes and ponds. No ice is safe ice."

Teen boy dies in East Brunswick as well

Tillburg was the second New Jersey teen to die Wednesday night after falling into an icy pond. A 13-year-old East Brunswick boy was pronounced dead at 7:45 p.m. after he and two friends fell into a partially frozen pond just steps away from the East Brunswick Civic Center.

At 4:55 p.m., police were called to the pond regarding three juveniles who fell through the ice. When police got there, two of the boys were able to successfully pull themselves out, but one boy still remained in the water. Arriving officers immediately formed a chain and entered the pond, but he slipped under the ice before they could reach him.

East Brunswick firefighters arrived and, working with police, were able recover the 13-year-old boy from the pond. He was given CPR and rushed in critical condition to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:45 p.m., said police.

That teen has only been identified as an eighth-grader at Churchill Junior High School.

In that instance, six officers and two firefighters were treated for hypothermia, including three who had to be taken to the hospital, police said. East Brunswick police were racing so fast to the pond that one officer got into a car accident and had to be hospitalized.

Talk about ice safety and awareness with your kids; they are never too young or too old

The best advice is simply tell your children to always stay off any frozen body of water, be it a pond, lake, river, creek or canal, said Fire Chief George Luck Jr. of the Kingston Fire Department in South Brunswick. His team is trained in ice rescues; and just this past December, they rescued a deer that had fallen into an icy pond off Route 1.

Sometimes, officials will test ice for thickness and then put up green flags indicating that it's OK to walk on. But even then, it's not worth the risk, he said.

"Princeton University will test Carnegie Lake for thickness, and they'll block off a section of the lake for skating. They'll put green flags up saying it's OK to go on," he said. "But even, then the rest of the lake is not frozen, because the Millstone River feeds it, and moving water prevents ice from forming."

"A current will keep ice from forming," he said. "Even in a pond, it has to get its water somewhere."

That's why ponds and lakes are often frozen near the shoreline and not in the center, he said.

"You're on 2 inches of ice, and then you're on half an inch," he said. "The problem is most people panic and try to swim and accidentally move themselves away from the hole where they fell in. You are suddenly trapped under thick ice. It's very, very sad."

A few winter nights below freezing will create ice, which is all-too-tempting for adventurous kids and teens.

"It will freeze, but it's not going to be a hard freeze. That takes several weeks of freezing temperatures," Luck said. "And if we have temps in the high 30s and 40s in the daytime, it's just not going to be cold enough."

Don't forget about pets: Dogs will often run out onto a frozen pond or lake in the wintertime, and the results can be tragic. The danger pops up every year, right around this time: In January 2018, a beagle died after it fell into a small pond in its own backyard in Middletown. In January 2016, a dog fell into the frozen Milltown Pond in Milltown.

His owner, Stefan Pouchnikov, said he had been walking the dog off a leash when the Lab suddenly spotted some ducks out on the ice and gave chase. In that instance, firefighters were able to save the animal.

"If you're walking your pet near a body of water, keep them on the leash," Luck said. "Especially a larger dog will break through the ice. Then the owner wants to retrieve the dog, so they go in. The results are probably going to be tragic."

It's really safest to tell your children and teens to go to an ice rink, he said. Many towns in New Jersey have municipal ice rinks just for that reason, to prevent the lure of an icy pond.

And after Wednesday night's double tragedy, many towns in New Jersey are scrambling to put up warning signs around local bodies of water.

"We have the Duck Pond here in town,and it's my biggest, biggest fear that some winter a kid will fall through it," said Secaucus Mayor Mike Gonnelli. "I get really nervous. I'm talking to DPW right now and telling them to put signs up today telling kids to stay off the ice."

Keep reading: Deer Stuck In The Ice In South Brunswick Is Rescued (Dec. 2019)

Dog Dies After Falling Through Ice In Middletown (Jan. 2018)

Dog Falls Into Icy Milltown Pond, Saved by Officer and DPW Manager (Jan. 2016)