Berkeley balcony collapse

On June 16, 2015, 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.^[1] The group was celebrating a 21st birthday party in Berkeley, California. The district attorney of Alameda County is launching a criminal probe into the incident.^[2]

In June 2015, Mayor Tom Bates of Berkeley promised a broad and wide ranging investigating into the cause of the accident with the likely cause being that the balcony of the building was not constructed properly leading to dry rot developing, leading to the balcony to become structurally compromised. Overwhelming evidence points to dry rot as having caused the collapse, and not the weight of the 13 students on it at the time.

Details

One of the six killed was a dual Irish-American citizen, Ashley Donohoe, 22, of Rohnert Park, California. The five others were Olivia Burke (Donohue's cousin), Eoghan Culligan, Niccolai 'Nick' Schuster, Lorcán Miller and Eimear Walsh, all aged 21 and from Dublin, Ireland.^[3]

The New York Times published an article reporting the deaths and suggested the deceased were to blame for the collapse. The paper stated that Irish students coming to the US on J-1 visas are an "embarrassment to Ireland".^[4] The Irish Taioseach Enda Kenny and former President of Ireland Mary McAleese criticised the newspaper for "being insensitive and inaccurate" in its handling of the story.” The newspaper subsequently apologized, with the article still available at its website.^[5]

The Irish Star and Irish Examiner newspapers caused controversy by publishing an image of a body bag lying on the ground. A Galway newsagent removed the two papers as a protest.^[6]

Investigation

Alameda County prosecutors opened up a criminal investigation in the accident on June 25. They stated that involuntary manslaughter could be filed against someone.^[7] On 25 June, Berkeley DA Nancy O'Malley denied that pressure from the Irish community led to the collapse inquiry. Rumour had spread that because they said their involvement was over the Irish had pressurised them into a new inquiry. They also said that they were looking into previous lawsuits against the complex. They yet declined for comment.

On 3 July 2015, the Alameda County Superior Court rejected a restraining order bid against the examination of evidence by Segue Builders, a construction company. DA O'Malley had argued the granting of a restraining order would amount to an interference in her duty to investigate the tragedy.^[8]

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 in California. Funeral services were held in Dublin for the other victims.^[9]

Investigation

In December 2015, a court was told that the collapse happened because contractors cut corners to save costs. It is alleged the management company for the building, Greystar, ignored a "red flag" when students who rented the apartment complained about the presence of mushrooms growing on the balcony. Legal cases by some of the victims are set to be combined and heard together sometime in 2016.

References