Kansas City, Kansas: Monica Rivera Fell 40 Feet Through a Gap in the 7th Street Bridge, and Her Family Wants It Closed

Monica Rivera, a 24 year old mother of two from Wyandotte County, was found dead on Friday, October 23, in an industrial area under the 7th Street Trafficway Bridge in Kansas City, Kansas. Police say she fell about 40 feet through a 30 inch gap between the two decks of the bridge while she was walking across it early that morning. A preliminary autopsy found no evidence of foul play, and police have called her death a tragic accident.

What police say happened

Rivera was last seen early on Friday, October 23, walking northbound along the 7th Street Trafficway near Southwest Boulevard, according to the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department. Police told NBC affiliate KSHB that she had been out with friends and may have been impaired, and that after an argument with a friend she began walking across the bridge. According to ABC affiliate KMBC, she climbed over a median gate and fell about 40 feet through the 30 inch gap. FOX affiliate WDAF reported that she likely tried to cross between the northbound and southbound lanes, and that many people who use the bridge do not know the opening is there.

Officers were sent at 9:45 a.m. that morning to a report of a deceased person in the industrial area just north of Southwest Boulevard, under the bridge. Police linked the body to a missing person report filed in Johnson County, Kansas, and later identified her as Rivera.

Police spokesperson Nancy Chartrand explained the hazard to the Kansas City Star. "It kind of looks like it's one continuous deck, but there's actually a gap," she said. "If you were trying to go from one side to the other, you could possibly fall."

Her family wants the gap closed

Rivera's mother, Emilia Rivera, remembered her daughter to KMBC. "She was genuine inside when she loved. She loved hard," she said. Rivera's two daughters, Aryana, 5, and Ilah, 3, are now with their father. A GoFundMe page set up for the girls says they arrived at his home with only the clothes on their backs, and asks for help so the family can grieve without worrying about daily necessities.

Her aunt, Cassie Bennett, has started a Change.org petition asking the city to close the gap on the 7th Street Bridge. Bennett wrote that the fatal accident could have been avoided if the city had acted in time to keep its residents safe, and she said community members had raised concerns about the gap before Rivera died. In a KSHB report published on Saturday, October 31, her family asked for room to grieve while they press the city to fix the bridge.

The Kansas City, Kansas Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from PEOPLE on Friday, October 30. The reports published so far do not include a response from the city on the petition or on whether the gap will be closed.