After about four months of the ill-fated helicopter crash, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner has released its conclusive reports on the cause of the deaths of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna on Friday, May 15.
The reports showed Kobe and Gianna dying of blunt trauma.
It would be recalled that January 26 fatal accident claimed the lives of all nine people aboard the helicopter: Bryant, 41; Gianna, 13; pilot Ara Zobayan, 50; Gianna’s basketball teammates Alyssa Altobelli, 14, and Payton Chester, 13; Alyssa’s parents, John Altobelli, 56, and Keri Altobelli, 46; Payton’s mother, Sarah Chester, 45; and coach Christina Mauser, 38.
The L.A. coroner’s office inferred on January 30 that “after round-the-clock testing and analysis of DNA,” its team had determined that the cause of death for the nine victims was blunt trauma. The manner of death was certified as an accident.
In February, Bryant’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the aircraft company, Island Express Helicopters, with a claim of accusation that the pilot was “negligent” and failed “to use ordinary care” by flying in flight and potentially blinding conditions. This investigative lead of Vanessa has prompted the other members of the Altobelli and Mauser families to follow suit by suing the aircraft company for unspecified damages in April.
Image credit: Instagram/ Kobe Bryant
Meanwhile, Island Express Helicopters refuted the accusation claim earlier this month that all of the passengers aboard “had actual knowledge of all of the circumstances, particular dangers and an appreciation of the risks involved” by flying in the aircraft.
Vanessa, 38, has since the tragic incidence surrounded herself with family and friends, especially being around her daughters Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, 10 months. Emotionally, the girls showered their beloved mother with lots of love on the recent Mother’s Day by giving her gifts including a book titled ‘Why I Love My Mom’ and a charcuterie board.
Vanessa, who is a former model has been paying tribute to her late husband and daughter on several occasions via social media; the recent of all was when she celebrated her birthday on May 5, where she took to Instagram to share a photo of a letter that she found from the Los Angeles Lakers legend, which she captioned, “The irony is that Kobe had a photo of me drawn with an Angel holding me up by an artist on the cover. Missing the Love of my Life and my sweet little Mamacita- my fellow Taurus. Grateful to wake up to my 3 sweet girls today. Wish we were all together.”
