UPDATE: Bad gas at N.J. station may have been contaminated by heavy rain

Twelve motorists filed police complaints Wednesday after their vehicles received bad gasoline from the Sunoco on Route 35 at Sunset Avenue in Ocean Township, authorities said.

"Their cars became disabled after getting gas," Lt. Timothy Torchia said Thursday. "In some cases, there was heavy smoke. The cars became bogged down and they needed to pull off the road."

Torchia said a sample pulled during testing on Wednesday showed "a significant amount of water in the gasoline." The station has been closed while the Monmouth County Department of Weights and Measures, the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Consumer Affairs investigate the cause of the contamination.

Torchia said the bad gasoline apparently was pumped into one underground tank at the station. The delivery occurred before 7 a.m. Wednesday. Drivers began experiencing problems after that time, Torchia said.

"It's not a criminal matter or anything like that," Torchia said. "They got a bad batch of gas, I guess."

Torchia said he had no other reports of contaminated fuel at other gas stations.

Ocean Township police advise anyone having car problems due to this gasoline issue to call 1-800-Sunoco1 to make a claim or to obtain more information.

It has come to our attention that there was an issue at the Sunoco Gas Station located at Highway 35/Sunset Avenue... Posted by Township of Ocean Police Department on Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.