Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven other victims died instantly when their helicopter crashed into a hillside outside Los Angeles, officials said Friday.
The Los Angeles County coroner’s office released the autopsy reports which stated that the nine onboard died as a result of blunt force trauma.
“These injuries are rapidly if not instantly fatal,” Juan Carrillo, senior deputy medical examiner, wrote in the report.
There was only one drug in Kobe’s system and it was Ritalin. The medication is used to treat ADHD and narcolepsy.
The coroner’s office’s report also clarified the pilot, Ara Zobayan, had no drugs or alcohol in his system during the time of the crash.
“The pilot flying Kobe Bryant and seven others to a youth basketball tournament did not have alcohol or drugs in his system, and all nine sustained immediately fatal injuries when their helicopter slammed into a hillside outside Los Angeles in January, according to autopsies released Friday. The reports by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office provide a clinical but unvarnished look at just how brutal the crash was, describing broken bones, dismembered body parts and a stench of fuel on what remained of clothing that burned.”
At the time of the crash, Zobayan was piloting the helicopter at 184 mph but it is still unclear as to why he decided to fly at that speed.
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Everyone on board was traveling to a youth basketball tournament Gianna and two of her teammates were scheduled to play in at Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks.
Kobe and Gianna are survived by Kobe’s wife, Vanessa, and three of Kobe’s daughters – Natalia, Bianka and Capri.
