A Paterson firefighter killed while riding his mountain bike in an Essex County park two years ago did not know of dangerous conditions in the area, including a steep cliff with no barriers or warning signs, his widow states in a recently filed lawsuit.
Kerry James Rivera, a 13-year member of the fire department, died June 26, 2017 after the mountain bike he was riding plunged 20 feet off a cliff in a wooded reservation near the Cedar Grove Reservoir. Rivera, 50, had taken up bike riding a couple of months earlier and was with his brother when the accident occurred about 9 a.m. that day, officials have said. Rena Mason River, his wife, is suing Cedar Grove and Montclair townships, Essex County and Mills Reservation Park, calling the cliff where her husband lost his life unsafe for recreational use.