Statue of Kobe and Gianna Bryant erected on two-year anniversary of fatal crash

by Seth Udinski

Seth Udinski, FISM News

 

A statue has been erected in the mountains outside Los Angeles, California, to honor the late NBA star Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, as well as seven others who were killed in a tragic helicopter crash on January 26, 2020.

The tragedy shocked sports fans worldwide, as Bryant was universally beloved as one of the greatest players to ever play basketball, as well as a loving husband and father to four girls.

The bronze statue was dedicated in the early morning hours Wednesday, on the two-year anniversary of the accident near the spot where the helicopter went down. It was created by Los Angeles sculptor Dan Medina.

The statue has the names of all nine victims of the crash on its base – Kobe and Gianna Bryant, John Altobelli, his wife, Keri, and their daughter Alyssa; Christina Mauser; Sarah Chester and her daughter Payton; and pilot Ara Zobayan. The helicopter was carrying the Bryants and other members of Gianna’s basketball team to a tournament when it crashed outside of LA due to operator error and foggy conditions.

This remembrance of Kobe and Gianna Bryant unfortunately coincides with an impending court case on a lawsuit filed by Bryant’s widow, Vanessa. Vanessa Bryant is arguing that photographs of the crash, which included close-up shots of her husband’s and daughter’s remains, were insensitively shared and viewed by firefighters and policemen. The lawsuit states,

Discovery has shown that the close-up photos of Gianna and Kobe’s remains were passed around on at least twenty-eight Sheriff’s Department devices and by at least a dozen firefighters, and shown off in bars and at an awards gala. It has also shown that Defendants engaged in a cover up, destroying the direct forensic evidence of their misconduct and requiring extensive circumstantial evidence to establish the full extent of that misconduct.

The case is set to begin on February 22.

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