Two young men are dead after their car plunged into the Raritan River in New Brunswick.

Police say 22-year-old Robert Veras-Toribio, of North Brunswick, was driving north on Route 18 when his car stuck a guardrail and was partially submerged in the river before the George Street exit around 1 a.m. Monday.

He and his passenger, 21-year-old Kelvin Lantigua, of New Brunswick, were pronounced dead at the scene.

The cause is under investigation.

The section of Route 18 north was closed for about four hours.