Angelo Ayala last spoke to his daughter days before a boat crash that ultimately took her life.

Ayala knew that at 20 years old she was “on her way to living her life,” but he still wanted to check in and see how things were going.

“We always influenced her to do what was right,” Ayala told the Sun-Times Monday afternoon.

Briana Burden, 20, died and six other people were rescued after a boat hit a breakwall and flipped early Friday near the “Playpen” off Oak Street Beach during a sharp burst of wind and high waves.

“About 3 a.m., we had a huge increase in wind and wave activity,” Deputy District Fire Chief Jason Lach said at a news briefing at the time. Wind gusts up to 30 miles an hour were recorded.

The boaters were returning to shore when the boat hit the breakwall off the 600-800 block of North DuSable Lake Shore Drive, according to Lach and Chicago Fire Chief Juan Hernandez.

Burden became trapped under the boat and didn’t survive, officials said. Chicago police were still investigating the crash and no citations or charges for the boat’s operator have been announced.

Tucked in an enclave between Oak Street and Ohio Street beaches, the Playpen is a popular party spot for boaters on summer weekends in Chicago.

“I’m so sad that everybody got hurt,” Ayala said. “People made it, my baby didn’t make it.”

Ayala told the Sun-Times Burden’s loss “was devastating and that everyone was in disbelief.”

“We are all a mess, but we’re strong, we’ll get through this,” Ayala said as he broke into tears. “It’s horrible to lose a child.”

Burden told her younger sister she was going to be with friends at the lakefront when her sister advised against it due to the weather and how late it was, according to Ayala.

Ayala said he didn’t know Burden was on a boat early Friday.

“Everybody has poured their heart out,” Ayala continued. “Everybody loves her because she was so positive and so inspirational to people.”

Ayala has been attending balloon releases every day since the crash — including one Sunday at the scene of the accident.

“We’ve been having balloon releases every day and that’s what she would’ve wanted,” Ayala said. “She was the light in the room.”

When Burden graduated from Carl Schurz High School, she told her family she wanted to be a positive influence.

Her positivity and willingness to help others was what instantly stood out to Ayala.

“She was always an influence to people when they were down,” Ayala said.

Burden worked at a North Side nursing facility helping elderly people and was briefly at an Amazon Foods store.

She aspired to “help kids, make sure they were good in their lives and guide them through any trouble they might face.”

Burden enjoyed traveling, going to the movies and riding bikes, according to her father, who says he still has as least three of her bikes sitting in his garage.

Burden had two sisters, 18 and 24, and enjoyed going out with them and her mother to get their hair and nails done.

Ayala and Burden often went to amusement and water parks over the years — a tradition she continued with her friends.

“She loved going there and winning prizes,” Ayala said. “It was a comfort zone for her there.”

Contributing: Rosemary Sobol, Ashlee Rezin