KANSAS CITY, Kan. — KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson covers neighborhoods in Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. Share your story idea with Rachel.
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A 24-year-old Kansas City, Kansas, woman died Oct. 23 after falling through a 30-inch gap in the 7th Street Trafficway bridge.
The Kansas Department of Transportation confirmed to KSHB 41 News Wyandotte County reporter Rachel Henderson the agency is responsible for maintaining the bridge. In an email, KDOT said there are no plans for updates to the median gap.
Kansas City, Kansas, police say surveillance video shows Monica Rivera walking northbound along 7th Street Trafficway near Southwest Blvd. early in the morning of Oct. 23.
Rivera fell approximately 40 feet to the street through the gap in the median.
Officers were dispatched to the scene at approximately 9:45 a.m. after a deceased person was reported in an industrial area just north of Southwest Blvd.
Preliminary autopsy findings indicate no evidence of foul play. Detectives with the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department's Major Case Unit are leading the investigation.
Detectives linked the case to a missing person report filed Friday afternoon in Johnson County, Kansas. Rivera was positively identified over the weekend.
Police say Rivera had been out with friends and may have been impaired. She got out of a car following an argument with a friend and began walking alone across the bridge. A police spokesperson added she was not being chased and was not looking behind her.
Anyone with information on the case should call the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477). All tips remain confidential and could qualify for a cash reward.
KCK police said they're also urging pedestrians to exercise caution in that area and say they feel for the family.
Monica's family says they became aware that something was wrong the morning of Oct. 23, when her two daughters — ages 5 and 3 — did not go to school, which they say was out of character for her. Jacqueline Gallo, the grandmother of Monica's two daughters, said the concern was immediate.
"It just wasn't normal for her to leave the girls like that," Gallo told Henderson. "That's kind of what both of us felt."
Monica's mother, Emilia Rivera, adopted Monica when she was 15. Emilia says she was out of town caring for other grandchildren when she received a call that Monica was missing. She learned Saturday that her daughter had died.
"It was truly just an accident," Emilia Rivera said. "She was just trying to get to the other side, and she didn't realize there was the gap there.”
The family said they have been in close contact with police and detectives and have had their questions answered. Still, social media speculation has compounded the pain of grieving.
"It really is tough. And it's tough for us to see all this evil stuff on social media of things that everybody says happened, and the mom knows the truth. The mom is here to clear the air, it was an accident. There was nothing else that happened," Gallo said.
Emilia echoed those sentiments.
"For us and for the girls, it's been a nightmare. Trying to protect them long-term. Social media, internet doesn't go away," Emilia said.
Gallo remembered Monica as someone who brought joy wherever she went.
"She was the life of the party. Monica stood out in a crowd, and she loved being a girl mom," Gallo said.
Both grandmothers say their focus is now on the two young girls left behind.
"They're five and three-years-old, and they have no idea what happened to their mom," Gallo said. "It's an unfortunate event that they're going to grow up without her now. And we have to be a family to support these girls. And give them what she wanted as they grow up.”
The family says a GoFundMe has been established for Monica's two daughters. Several fundraisers have circulated on social media. The family says the verified fundraiser was set up by Emilia's oldest son.
Gallo and Rivera had a final message for the public.
"Let us grieve now in private. Let us protect these girls. Just give us our time now. That's all we ask. Just give us our time now," Gallo said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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