Three North Bergen officials are mourning the loss of North Bergen Police Dispatcher Brian Rivera, 24, who died in a double fatal crash on Tonnelle Avenue Sunday evening.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“On behalf of the Township of North Bergen we want to offer our sincerest sympathies to the family and friends of Brian Rivera, who tragically passed away after a motor vehicle collision,” Mayor Nick Sacco, Public Safety Commissioner Allen Pascual, and Police Chief Robert Farley Jr. said in a statement.
“Brian was a member of the NBPD family as a police dispatcher, and he was in the initial stages of the hiring process to become a Class II Special Police Officer. This tragic accident is currently being reviewed by the State Attorney General’s Office, and our prayers are with Brian and his family during this time of tragic loss.”
Rivera, as well as Joseph Aziz, 20, of Jersey City, died in a crash near the intersection of 51st Street and Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen Sunday evening after North Bergen Police Lt. Jason Appello began following Aziz after a traffic violation.
He ultimately collided with a vehicle being driven by Rivera at the aforementioned intersection.
A GoFundMe page for Rivera has raised $50,170 as of 6 p.m. this evening. Since the original goal was $45,000, it has now been raised to $75,000.
The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office released the names of the two decedents and the officer involved yesterday, as HCV first reported.
