U.S.

World in Shock After Basketball Legend Kobe Bryant Killed in Helicopter Crash

Nine Total Perished in Tragic Crash

Reporter Tyler Bageut

On January 26th, 2020, NBA Superstar Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant were killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. Along with them, seven other people were killed, including Baseball Coach John Altobelli and his wife and daughter. The others included a family close to the Bryants, the coach of the Harbor Day Girls’ Basketball Team and the pilot, who were all heading to a basketball game for the school. The crash was due to visibility issues, caused by weather conditions that day. Despite the helicopter being known as a safe, luxury aircraft, its company was not cleared to fly in such conditions. The helicopter crashed into a mountain, with several locals calling 911 to report the incident.

Once reports of the crash came in, several different stories came about. According to the LA Times, ABC Correspondent Matt Gutman has been suspended for reporting that all four of Bryant’s children were in the crash. Later, rumors began to circulate on Twitter that former Boston Celtics player Rick Fox had also been killed. Both of these stories have been proven false, with Rick Fox disproving the rumors on Twitter and Vanessa Bryant confirming on Instagram that only Kobe and Gianna had died. CEO of Kobe inc. has stated that, “to this point, no one has been authorized to speak on behalf of the family regarding any personal details surrounding Sunday's tragedy, including stories related to the family's previous air travel decisions.” He also said that “We ask members of the media for respect and responsible judgment during this difficult time. These inaccurate reports only add unnecessary pain to a grieving family."

Since the crash, little has been heard directly from the Bryant family. On January 29th, the first statement by Vanessa Bryant was given on Instagram. She thanked all those who have shown love and support to them and said “we are completely devastated by the loss of my husband, Kobe - the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet Gianna - a loving, thoughtful, and wonderful daughter, and amazing sister to Natalia, Bianca, and Capri.” February 5th, she was also seen at Gianna’s school, Harbor Day, in Newport Beach, California. There, she attended the jersey retirement of Gianna’s basketball number, which was number two. Gianna was honored by the Harbor Day Basketball Team, with her jersey displayed. She later posted on Instagram that “You’ve [Gianna] taught us all that no act of kindness is ever too small. Mommy is still and will always be so proud of you.” This was posted on the same day as the ceremony.

As far as the families of the other victims go, an outpouring of support has come, specifically for the Altobelli family, one of the other families who lost people in this tragedy. Along with baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri and thirteen-year-old daughter Alyssa were killed. Alyssa was a teammate of Gianna and the Bryant and Altobelli families had grown close because of this. A funeral has been planned for the Altobelli family, being located at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, with it being open to the public and will take place on Monday, February 10th, 2020. Tony Altobelli, John’s brother, wrote on Facebook that “Needless to say, there will be plenty of room” and that “if you’d like to be a part of this, we’d love to have you.” The funeral will be held on Monday, February 10th, 2020.

Donations for the families of the victims have opened up on MambaOnThree.Org. All proceeds will go to the families of Alyssa Altobelli, John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Payton Chester, Sarah Chester, Christina Mauser, and Ara Zobayan. This site was started by Team Mamba, which is the girls’ basketball team of which Kobe Bryant served as the coach.