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NEW YORK (CBS/AP) ― A Valentine's Day storm dropped a nasty mix of snow, ice and rain on New Jersey, closing schools, snarling traffic and cutting power to thousands of utility customers.

Two deaths were attributed to the storm, which began Tuesday night and worsened on Wednesday morning as snow turned to sleet and freezing rain over many areas of the state. More than 1,000 traffic accidents were reported on the state's ice-slicked major roads and countless others on smaller thoroughfares.

Teterboro Airport was briefly closed after a corporate jet veered off the side of a runway while landing just after 8 p.m. Wednesday, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jim Peters said.

None of the nine people -- two crew members and seven passengers -- aboard the multiengine jet were hurt, but the airport was closed for more than two hours after the incident. The jet was registered to Owners Jet Services Ltd. of Las Vegas, Peters said, and had departed from a Chicago-area airport.

The weather also created a dangerous situation in Mount Laurel, where two boys -- both around 12 years old -- fell through the ice while playing on a local pond with a third boy.

One of the boys who fell in the ice managed to quickly free himself, but the other youth lost consciousness while in the water and had to be rescued by a local firefighter. The boy was taken to an area hospital, where he was being treated Wednesday night, Fire Chief Robert Gallos said.

As the day wore on and temperatures fell, ice built up on trees and power lines, increasing outages even as the storm pulled away from much of the state. And while utility crews continued to work across the state late Wednesday night, about 43,000 customers were still without power.

As of 10 p.m., Jersey Central Power & Light Co. reported 40,000 customers without electricity, most of them in Monmouth and Ocean counties, but said it had succeeded in restoring power to another 56,000 who had been affected earlier in the day. The outages were mainly caused by ice and strong winds, which brought trees and branches down on power lines.

Atlantic City Electric had just under 2,700 customers without power, most of them in Salem and Gloucester counties. Public Service Electric & Gas Co. had reduced its outages to less than 360 and also had restored power to nearly 19,000 customers in Deptford and West Deptford who briefly lost service after icing on transmission lines caused equipment troubles.

Earlier in the day, slick roads proved deadly. A man traveling northbound on the New Jersey Turnpike got out of his vehicle to change a flat tire and was struck and killed by another vehicle just south of Interchange 15W.

On Tuesday evening, a woman was killed on the Garden State Parkway south of the Atlantic City Expressway when she was involved in a minor fender-bender, got out to inspect the damage, and was struck and killed by another vehicle.

"I cannot stress strongly enough the importance of not getting out of your vehicle onto the roadway even on a sunny day in July, let alone the weather conditions we've been experiencing the past 24 hours," said Joseph Orlando, a spokesman for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.

In Point Pleasant Beach and similar coastal communities, schools opened late, allowing buses and parents to navigate through flooded local roads. In many areas, snow and ice clogged sewer drains, flooding roadways that had chunks of ice bobbing in the wake of slowly passing vehicles.

In the northwest corner of the state, which usually gets hardest hit by winter storms, Sussex County had been bracing for between 12 to 20 inches of snow. But by early afternoon, only 3 to 4 inches had fallen before changing over to rain. And even though 2 more inches fell Wednesday night, the area was feeling relief.

"It's less of a storm than we counted on," said Skip Daniels, the county's emergency management director.

The speed limit on the turnpike was reduced to 35 mph the entire length as road crews scrambled to keep up with changing conditions. Orlando said 350 people and 250 trucks were at work salting and plowing.

New Jersey Transit reported no serious problems or major delays on its commuter rail lines and only minor delays on its bus routes. Amtrak was experiencing some delays between New York and Washington due to the weather.

Hundreds of flights were canceled at the three New York area airports operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, but there were only slight delays at Newark Liberty International Airport, spokesman Steve Coleman said.

(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)