Survivor of 2015 Berkeley balcony collapse dies of stroke

DUBLIN, Ireland - A young Irish woman who was severely injured in the 2015 Berkeley balcony collapse has died.

According to a statement from the University College Dublin, Aoife Beary died at a Dublin, Ireland, hospital on Saturday due to a stroke. The news was first reported by the Irish Times.  She was 27. 

It's not immediately known if the stroke was related to the injuries she sustained in the balcony collapse.

It was Beary's 21st birthday that was being celebrated on the balcony when it collapsed.

Six people died, and seven others were injured in the 40-foot drop to the street below.

At the time, then-Mayor Tom Bates said investigators believe the wood was not caulked and sealed properly at the time of construction and was damaged by moisture as a result.

A report by consultant architect Robert Perry identified the cause of the balcony collapse as dry rot damage, which occurred along the top of the cantilever balcony deck joists. His analysis identified water damage between the joists and the flooring of the balcony, which was made of oriented strand board.

Beary testified before a state Assembly committee in 2016, urging lawmakers to support SB 465, which would make California study the causes of shoddy construction.

The legislation later unanimously passed the state Senate and was signed into law. 

The Irish Immigration Pastoral Center San Francisco, a nonprofit that assists Irish immigrants in the Bay Area, said in a Facebook statement: "It is with deepest sadness that we share the passing of Aoife Beary."

Beary is survived by her parents Mike and Angela, her sister Anna and her brother Tim.

This story was reported from Oakland, Calif.