Hookerman, are you kidding me? Go to the nearest car and take out the spare tire??? Have you ever been in the middle of a traumatic situation? These kids were out on the lake at night, freezing cold water temps and somebody's gonna run to a car (break in the trunk???? hello) and run down with a spare tire to save these kids.
Please stop trying to save the world, this was a tragic event that could not have been prevented. Kids are gonna do what they want to do regardless of signs or whatever. If you feel obligated to post comments to situations such as these please make them more on the lines of something like this......To the families, my heart totally goes out to you, there's nothing you could have done....God Bless and my thoughts and prayers are with you!!!

My advice is neither crazy nor off-topic since the article has to do with how the tragedy occurred, and we were discussing how to prevent another tragedy in the future (signs, ropes, ladders, etc.). So I will explain the logic behind my advice now.

Whenever a person goes into cold water, either off a boat or through the ice, the number one priority is to keep them afloat. It takes hours to succumb to hypothermia, but only seconds to drown, and cold water saps your strength immediately. This is why boaters are strongly advised to wear life vests, especially in the early spring. If there were a ladder, rope and life saving ring in shore, the absolute first thing you would do is throw the ring in the water to keep the person afloat. If you don't have a throwable device, then anything that contains air will also work. For example, a gallon milk jug, an empty gas can, or a spare tire (as I pointed out above) will keep a person afloat until they can be rescued. As far as breaking into a car, there may have been someone close by who is in or near their car.

If you doubt my advice is correct, I suggest you speak with anyone who has had lifesaving training, and I guarantee they will back me up. I know that in a trauma situation people don't always think clearly, but if they can remember these simple tips, it can mean the difference between life and death.

"Hookerman" is a JO who sits in front of his computer 24/7. He comments on everything, yet nobody cares. Try to think of the families at this time, not your McGuiver like instincts. "Hookerman " would be a stud in the REAL world if he could peel his ass away from the monitor.

Each time I think Hookerman can't make himself look any worse, he does. It's quite simply amazing. First off, the statement, "It takes hours to succumb to hypothermia," is completely wrong. A human can succumb to hypothermia very quickly, it is completely dependent on the temp of the water. The colder the water, the faster it sets in.

The largest travesty here is that two young lives were lost. How they were lost and why is inconsequential now. Shame on nyone who is critiquing or criticizing these two teens. There is no need for that... they are dead. As far as dealing with the brothel king known as Hookerman, apparentely from other posts I have seen he gets real sensitive when people speak about autism, yet he seems to feel it's OK to criticize the dead.

Sad... two guys who had nothing better to do on a Saturday evening but put down a complete a complete stranger on an internet forum. Both of you desperately need to get a life.

^^^^ Everyone please not that the above is what someone who has been proven wrong, made to look like a fool, or has been defeated writes when they can not bring themselves to just say, "I am/was wrong, sorry." They go for the "I feel pity for you because you are on here at this time of day, etc..." line. Admit defeat and move on.

I like your advice and am glad you were willing to give it. Of course, the whole State grieves with these families. And because this is so tragic, and because I have boys the same age, I'm going to show them what you've posted.

I have one question?Do the other parents of the community realize their kids were not being supervised? Thats a big problem today

Thanks Moira! Another suggestion I read on one of the threads is for parents to buy their kids who want to go out on the ice inflatable life vests. They are entirely comfortable to wear, but will inflate automatically when they’re exposed to water. That’s the best advice I’ve heard. Having ropes and ladders available on the shoreline is also excellent advice of course.

absolutely correct with your line of thinking,also the time for ideas and education regardless of somes beliefs that kids are so ignorant that if given the knowledge to choose life or death they might not choose the ladder.myself with over 30 some years of ice activities it would be a sin not to share my thoughts.i thought the Hookermans tire idea was great,if ever involved in a rescue thats something i would use if needing something that floats.i also would not recommend to anyone to go out onto lake in the dark to make any rescue unless they had some tools or knowledge of ice thickness that could be a mistake.best serve by notify authorities and assuring the victim that help is on the way and most important directing first reponders directly to the scene.

I live in Manalapan and one day i passed by a lake on a very unsual warm day in Febuary and noticed agroup of boys playing ice hockey in water up to their ankles on top of ice i called the police and since then thin ice warnigs have been posted when needed-As far as the kids I still shake my head 0 common sense and they weren't that young.

Because the ice was very safe for daytime skating on the very strong white ice Sunday afternoon,now if those kids you saw were skating near that open water then we would have unsafe ice.those two boys did not fall through thin ice but broke through the ice in or around the large open water that had yet not frozen.

Were you ever young LV Taxpayer ?? Or did you ALWAYS guide yourself by the same common sense you now have ??? I guess Mount Olive, and EVERY other town, should patrol every square inch of township property in order to prevent these nightmares from occurring. Thats fiscally responsible. God bless these families in their darkest days.

so if theres a sign pounded into the ground by some underworked dpw guy then of course by all means let your children run wild,your not getting,NOW REMEMBER forget all your preconceptions about these signs... let me explain there is NO presumtion of totally perfect ice anyway on this planet,thus you will get NO SIGHS forget the signs,... thats only for very very small small bodies of water with more control, you really need to actually get on the ice in order to understand ice not just sit back a wait for the signs,... like trying to teach someone to drive a car without actually get in a car...Hookerman is right on target people are just to stupid to even reconize....my experience 35yrs of lake ice ,thats skating,including bonfires and snowmobiles night and daytime driving

The problem with that is ice can never be guaranteed safe. The ice could be thick enough to support a car over 90 percent of a lake's surface, but there still could be sections around submerged springs, where water enters or leaves, or newly frozen ares that might not support a person. Ice can be 8 inches thick in one spot and barely two inches just a few steps away.

Also ice conditions can change from day to day, and sometimes within the same day. Ice can be safe in the morning and unsafe by the afternoon.

To do what you suggest would require a team of people to test every lake, every day. Not practical.

What we need is common sense. If in doubt, don't go out. If you do plan on going on the ice, carry a whistle, ice hand spikes and be familiar with self rescue techniques.

hey if your kid wants to go out on a lake and their parents let them who's fault is that?The parents need to access a situation before anyone does thats why your a parent

Agreed! These rants are ridiculous...especially under the circumstances. Figuring out a method of prevention for future occurrence is wise. Beating the hell out of eachother's opinions or takes on the situation is disgusting and an insult to these boys and their families. God Bless the boys and may they be at peace in heaven.

When todays parents figure out the kids today have zero common sense-then hopefully we wont have tragic accidents like this-Getting rid of cell phones for new drivers would be a good step.

alright well put a pitbulls all around the lake to keep the kids off the water-Where's the parents? It;s called commen sense,The same parents grew up in an era when you got hurt or beat up you licked your wounds.Mommy or Daddy didn't run you to the hospital for a pin prick on your finger.I Don't know what happened with the parents out there today-Damn disgrace being passed along to more idiots and dont even think i;m wrong

i would not skate on ice if it was only rockefeller center or the garden-then your safe

flags are put out for riptides but you get the same idiots drowning god weeds out dumb

Fascinating video, Brian. Things I would never think of. Thank you for sharing it.