Teacher dies after falling from balcony 'because she was laughing so hard'

'She would do anything for anyone,' says former school colleague

Sharon Regoli Ciferno, 50, who died after falling from a balcony (David Regoli)

A teacher on holiday in Mexico died after falling from a balcony because she was laughing so hard, it has been reported.

Sharon Regoli Ciferno, 50, tipped backwards off the edge of a rooftop ledge that was designed to double as a bench, her family said.

Ms Ciferno, of Pennsylvania, was married and leaves behind two teenage children, Fox News reported.

Her brother, David Regoli, said: "She started laughing very hard and when she put her head back she lost her balance and fell back. She suffered multiple injuries to her body and brain."

In a Facebook post, he added: "She died very peacefully with her husband John and her children as well as my parents and me holding her hands and praying over her.

"Now we need prayers of strength to come to grips with our loss.

"Through her generous gift of life, at least five people will have the opportunity to live on with some of her organs."

Ms Ciferno was a teacher in Pennsylvania's Burrell School District for more than a quarter of a century.

"She would do anything for anyone," Brian Ferra, head teacher of Huston Middle School, told TribLive. "You're never going to replace her as a person."

Ms Ciferno suffered the fall on 4 August and died in hospital in San Diego on Monday. Alcohol was not involved, her family said.