Two New Jersey brothers and a cousin were electrocuted yesterday by a downed power line.
The tragic accident occurred at around 4:15 a.m., when brothers Elmer Peña-Rivera, 28, and José Alfredo Peña-Rivera, 25, went to extinguish burning leaves near José’s white, 1996 Honda Accord outside their High Street home.
José tried to move the car, not knowing that a downed PSE&G power line was the cause of the fire – and that there was a live cable dangling in front of the car.
José “tried to jump into the car to salvage the car,” said another brother, Carlos, 23, but he was immediately electrocuted and lay in the front seat.
Elmer tried to help him but was electrocuted and fell on top of his brother.
Saul Lardeverde, 21, a cousin, also tried to help, but he, too, was electrocuted, officials said.
A fourth relative, Wilfredo Lardeverde, received minor burns to his hands trying to rescue the victims, police said.
The three victims, immigrants from El Salvador, were house painters for a local company, friends and officials said.
Residents said they’ve voiced complaints to PSE&G over the past two weeks about power lines being too low and in danger of falling down.
A PSE&G spokeswoman noted that sagging wires seen on televised reports aren’t power lines. She said the company is looking through its records for any complaints but has “not found any reports.”