A woman who had just been involved in a domestic dispute loaded her four children into a minivan Tuesday night before letting one out and driving the rest of them into the Hudson River, firefighters said. The woman and three young children were killed.

The 10-year-old boy who had been let out of the minivan ran to a nearby fire station and alerted firefighters, Chief Michael Vatter said. The boy said his mother had driven off a boat ramp and into the murky water of the river, which runs between New York and New Jersey, Vatter said.

Firefighters and police officers searched for the minivan for about an hour before finding it submerged in about 10 feet of water. They used a heavy-duty tow truck to pull it up the boat ramp and onto land.

Everyone inside was dead, Vatter said.

The woman lived in Newburgh just a few blocks from where she and her children perished, he said.