Those in or retired from the industry know that, in the “commuter” side of things, an ERO is a semi-common event. Safely accomplishing these takes a real awareness on the part of the ground crew. I am NOT an expert on the E175 but the pictures I see show that it is a below the wing engine. If a baggage crew is loading something in the forward pit, they have to be careful, very careful. As details of the accident are not available, it could have been the pushback crew that erred. I say erred because this is a human error event beyond question. It appears that the worker got to close to the front end of the vacuum cleaner and got sucked in. After years of flying, loading/unloading, and otherwise working around the C-141, the B-747, the DC-8, and the ATR-42 I am stating with a clear conscious that this poor guy/gal screwed up and paid the ultimate price for that error.
Blessings and condolences to the friends, relatives, and coworkers.