Coronavirus Toll: 3 Separate Stories Of NJ Victims In Their 30s

NEW JERSEY – One was a 33-year-old Passaic County firefighter. Another was a 30-year-old beloved baseball coach and former star athlete. Yet another was a well-known high school athlete in Hudson County who was just 34.

All died because of the coronavirus, officials and their friends and families said.

They were people who probably didn't know each other, but their separate stories came to light on Tuesday as New Jersey wrestled with the state's highest coronavirus death toll for one day. Read more: Gov. Phil Murphy: 69 More Die, 2,196 More NJ Coronavirus Cases

Murphy himself noted the young ages of the victims, adding that the disease doesn't discriminate based on how old the victim is, and can harm anyone.

"We continue to lose invaluable members of our New Jersey family to COVID-19-related complications," Murphy said during a press conference. "And this does not get any easier to speak to, never mind live through."

Here are their stories:

• Israel Tolentino, a 33-year-old Passaic County firefighter, died early Tuesday morning from complications of the new coronavirus. He left behind his wife, Maria, and two children: a daughter, age 9, and a son, age 7. Read more: Coronavirus Takes The Life Of Passaic County Firefighter, 33
• Alexis Demby was 34 and passed away on March 22. Two decades ago, she was a star basketball player at Memorial High School in West New York, in Hudson County. Read more: Hudson County Native And Star Athlete Dies Of Coronavirus At 34
• Ben Luderer, a 30-year-old River Vale man celebrated for his work as a baseball coach and a champion in New Jersey as a player, died Monday from complications of the new coronavirus. Read more: Beloved Cliffside Park Baseball Coach, 30, Dies Of Coronavirus