TOMS RIVER, NJ – Island Heights firefighters and police officers responded to a crash that occurred at 5:22 pm on Route 37 along the Island Heights and Toms River border. First responder reported a car had crashed through the wall of the Pied Pier Swim School.
Fortunately, the pool was empty at the time of the crash and no children were in the pool.
“This is a terrible way to start off your weekend thank God no children we’re doing classes at the time and the driver and the driver escaped unharmed,” the school said on its Facebook page.
Later, the driver of the car was seen in handcuffs being detained by the Island Heights Police Department. It is not known what, if any charges were filed. The driver was given a roadside sobriety test before being transported away by the police.
First responders were assisted by the Toms River Special Operations Team to extract the vehicle from the pool and the building, which required workers to cut a larger hole in the side of the building.
“At 5:22 pm today we were dispatched to a call for a vehicle into a building. Upon arrival Chiefs, 5300 and 5310 found that a car had driven through the exterior wall of the Pied Piper Swim School and drove into the pool,” the Island Heights Volunteer Fire Department reported. “The driver of the vehicle was not injured and was out of the car by the time our crews arrived.”
“In order to remove the vehicle from the pool we had to open up the side wall of the building with the assistance of the Toms River Special Operations Team who helped us stabilize and remove pieces of the wall,” the department added. “Once the wall was opened up a tow truck wrecker was able to pull the vehicle from the pool and out of the building. All of the agencies worked together to help get the car out while minimizing damage as much as possible.”