Daughter's tribute to Tupperware manager mum crushed in fatal balcony collapse
One of the two women killed in balcony collapse during a Christmas party in Melbourne has been named as mum Cheryl Taylor.
Ms Taylor, from Croydon, was with 29 of her fellow Tupperware employees trying to take a group photo on Saturday night at a home in Doncaster East when the deck collapsed beneath them.
Neighbours scrambled to help in the chaos but Ms Taylor, 59, couldn’t be saved and died at the scene. A 37-year-old Reservoir woman also lost her life in hospital Sunday morning.
Ms Taylor’s daughter Melissa posted a moving tribute to her mother on Facebook along with a photo of the pair.
“There is a light and it never goes out,” she posted.
Ms Taylor's friends, gathered throughout her life, described a selfless woman who would "do anything for anyone".
A friend of Ms Taylor described her as “kind-hearted, fun loving, generous, honest and always happy” and “a true friend in every sense of the way”.
A high school friend said the 59-year-old was “a good person taken too soon”.
Another friend, who did not want to be named, told the Herald Sun Ms Taylor had “outrageous sense of humour” and would “do anything for anyone”.
Gemma Kalmar, who worked with Ms Taylor as a manager, also paid tribute.
“You will be missed Cheryl, you will always be a part of my Tupperware family,” she posted.
One woman commented that she only met Ms Taylor recently but she made her laugh and “had a beautiful smile”.
One of the women at the party, Leisa Wilson, told the Mail Online it was lucky a fridge didn’t crush people when the floor gave way.
“This fridge began rolling down towards the hole,” Mrs Wilson said.
“My husband just kind of went into survival mode I guess, and Matt stopped it (the fridge) and he held it up on the deck.”
Seventeen people were hospitalised, but Mrs Wilson said the fridge would have “no doubt” caused more casualties.
One of the 17 injured was Casey Leerentveld, who is still recovering in Austin Hospital.
She posted on Facebook that she hasn’t slept because memories of the accident keep “flooding back”. She’s also devastated at losing “two wonderful friends”.
“Dislocated knee, fractured heel and lots of glass in my legs to be removed,” Ms Leerentveld posted.
Building inspectors attended the home on Sunday to assess the damage, the tragedy prompting a warning from industry experts who want all homeowners to ensure their properties are safe.
Melbourne architect Peter Georgiev said in particular, “old timber balconies built ‘70s, 80s, 90s, are vulnerable to these sorts of collapses” needed to be looked at.
