Puglisi, 43, was riding with a group of friends to the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta for the “Rock, Ribs and Ridges Festival” when her bike struck a chunk of rock or asphalt in the roadway.
Two others had swerved to avoid it just before her, witnesses said.
A Hasbrouck Heights High School graduate, Puglisi worked for 18 years at the Fountain Spa. She was also a volunteer at the Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge shelter in Oakland.
“I hope her death will be linked with highway maintenance negligence — and hopefully even start a movement to make the roads safer,” close friend Jenny Pena told CLIFFVIEW PILOT. “The police report said she hit a pothole, but those who were there know better.”
They include a couple of friends who were driving behind Puglisi in a car and witnessed the crash, as well as a rider who had his young daughter with him.
“She was a wonderful person and a shining star to many people,” Pena said.
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