On June 16, 2015, shortly after midnight, five
Irish J-1 visa students and one
Irish-American died and seven others were injured after a balcony on which they were standing collapsed. The group was celebrating a 21st birthday party in
Berkeley
Berkeley most often refers to:
*Berkeley, California, a city in the United States
**University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California
* George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher
Berkeley may also refer ...
,
California. The balcony was on the 5th floor of an apartment building at 2020 Kittredge Street in Berkeley, then called Library Gardens. The
district attorney
In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...
of
Alameda County launched a criminal probe into the incident. In January 2022, one of the injured died from a stroke related to the injuries.
In June 2015, Mayor
Tom Bates
Thomas H. Bates (born February 9, 1938) was the 21st mayor of Berkeley, California, and a member of the California State Assembly. Bates is married to Loni Hancock, another former mayor of Berkeley and State Assembly member who served in the C ...
of Berkeley promised a wide-ranging investigation into the cause of the accident. The evidence is overwhelming that dry rot from improper construction caused the collapse, not the weight of the 13 students.
Victims
Six people died in the immediate aftermath of the collapse. They were identified as 22-year-old Ashley Donohoe, and Olivia Burke, Eoghan Culligan, Niccolai "Nick" Schuster, Lorcán Miller and Eimear Walsh, all aged 21. All six were Irish and from
Dublin. On 2 January 2022, survivor Aoife Beary died of a stroke, the consequence of injuries sustained in the collapse.
Investigation
Alameda County prosecutors opened up an investigation in the accident on June 25. They stated that
involuntary manslaughter charges could be filed. On that day,
District Attorney
In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...
Nancy O'Malley
Nancy O'Malley was the District Attorney for Alameda County, California.
Biography
O'Malley was appointed as DA for Alameda County in 2009 by the board of supervisors when her predecessor retired. She ran unopposed in 2010 and 2014.
In Novem ...
denied that pressure from the Irish community led to the collapse inquiry. On July 3, 2015, the
Alameda County Superior Court
The Alameda County Superior Court, officially the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, is the California superior court with jurisdiction over Alameda County as established by Article VI of the Constitution of California. It functions ...
rejected a
restraining order
A restraining order or protective order, is an order used by a court to protect a person in a situation involving alleged domestic violence, child abuse, assault, harassment, stalking, or sexual assault.
Restraining and personal protection or ...
bid by Segue Builders, a construction company, against the examination of evidence. O'Malley had argued the granting of a restraining order would interfere with her duty to investigate the tragedy.
Funerals
A joint funeral service for Olivia Burke and her cousin Ashley Donohoe took place on June 20, four days after the collapse, in a church in
Cotati, California. Funeral services were held in
Dublin for the other victims.
Litigation
In December 2015 a court was told that the collapse happened because contractors cut corners to save costs and that the management company for the building,
Greystar Real Estate Partners
Greystar Real Estate Partners is an international real estate developer and manager based in the United States. As of April 2019, Greystar had $32 billion in gross assets under management, and operated in nine countries in 2022.
Greystar was t ...
, ignored a "red flag" when students who rented the apartment complained about mushrooms growing on the balcony. Legal cases by some of the victims were set to be combined and heard together. By the end of 2017 it was reported that most of the lawsuits had been settled.
See also
*
2003 Chicago balcony collapse
On June 29, 2003, the deadliest porch collapse in United States history occurred in Chicago.
An overloaded balcony collapsed during a party in an apartment building, killing thirteen people and seriously injuring fifty-seven others. The en ...
References
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2015 disasters in the United States
2015 in California
21st century in Berkeley, California
Building and structure collapses in 2015
Ireland–United States relations
Building and structure collapses in the United States