Top Bakersfield cyclist killed in women's race

48-year-old Suzanne Rivera, described by reports as "one of Bakersfield's best women cyclists," was killed on Sunday morning in an accident during Stage 4, the Bootjack Road Race, of California's Mariposa County Stage Race (formerly known as the Kern). She had taken up cycle racing only nine months ago.

Eyewitnesses say that the rider apparently failed to notice that a support vehicle had stopped on the parcours to assist another cyclist, then braked hard and lost control before colliding with the vehicle. It is not known which class she was racing in. A doctor and three nurses competing in the race attempted to resuscitate her, but she was declared dead at the scene.