Bloomfield man killed during Ida was probably electrocuted, police say – NorthJersey.com

A Bloomfield man who died as the remnants of Hurrican Ida swept through North Jersey on Sept. 2 is believed to have been electrocuted while trying to hook up a generator, officials said.

Police identified the man as 58-year-old Aventino Soares. Bloomfield Capt. Anthony Sisco said Soares was found unresponsive near a home on Ampere Parkway around 11:30 p.m. Several residents had called 911 after seeing him there.

When police got to the home, they found Soares lying face up with an electrical cord in his hand and across his chest. Sisco said the Bloomfield Fire Department helped them get inside the home and shut off the power in order to get to the resident.

They were unable to find a pulse. Although they began performing CPR on Soares, but paramedics from the Bloomfield Volunteer Emergency Squad declared he had died.

Mayor Michael Venezia said he did not personally know Soares but called his death “a tragedy.” He was one of 27 people to die in New Jersey as a result of Ida. Four people are still missing.

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Soares’ obituary said he was born in Portugal and came to the United States in 1986, living in Newark before moving to Bloomfield in 1997.

He was a founding member of Amigos do Vale USA, a group that memorialized him in a post on their Facebook page.

In the post, the nonprofit organization said Soares’ sudden death “grieves” his family, friends and community. Amigos do Vale USA called the Bloomfield resident an “exemplary citizen in honesty, character and honor”  and said Soares provided motivation and “good cheer” to people.

He served as a manager for Beyband International, a food service export business based in Fairfield.

He left behind a wife, three children, grandchildren, his mother and several siblings.

Visiting will be Wednesday from 5-8 p.m. at Buyus Funeral Home in Newark and a funeral Mass will be on Thursday at 10 a.m. at St. Francis Xavier Church in Newark.

Ida devastated much of the state with severe flooding and a tornado in South Jersey. Venezia said previously that between 70% and 75% of the township’s homes had flooding.

Millburn’s downtown was hit hard by flooding while Nutley’s mayor estimated there was between $3 million and $4 million worth of damage in the town.

Kaitlyn Kanzler covers Essex County for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: kanzler@northjersey.com

Twitter: @KaitlynKanzler8