Vanessa Bryant as received nearly $29 million in a settlement in a lawsuit of photos from Kobe Bryant’s crash site.
On Jan. 26, 2020, a helicopter crash in Calabasas tragically killed Bryant, his daughter Gianna, pilot Ara Zobayan, baseball coach John Altobelli, Altobelli’s wife Keri and daughter Alyssa, basketball coach Christina Mauser, Payton Chester and her mother Sara.
In August of last year, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s and Fire departments were found liable in court for taking and sharing photos of the helicopter’s crash site.
Luis Li, one of Bryant’s attorneys, shared the following statement to CNN:
“Today marks the successful culmination of Mrs. Bryant’s courageous battle to hold accountable those who engaged in this grotesque conduct. She fought for her husband, her daughter, and all those in the community whose deceased family were treated with similar disrespect. We hope her victory at trial and this settlement will put an end to this practice.”
In March 2020, it was reported that eight deputies allegedly shared or took photos of the crash site, per the Associated Press. Alex Villanueva, the Los Angeles County Sheriff, said that they made sure the photos of the crash site were deleted.
Kobe spent his entire career with the Lakers, which spanned from 1996 to 2016. He led the organization to five NBA championships over an 11-season span (2000, 2001, 2002, 2009 and 2010) and won back-to-back NBA Finals MVP honors in 2009 and 2010.
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Bryant was an 18-time All-Star who earned 11 All-NBA First team honors. The 2008 league MVP won back-to-back scoring championships in 2006 and 2007.
Kobe and Vanessa married in 2001 and were together until his untimely passing. Kobe and Vanessa had four daughters together: Gianna, Bianca, Natalia and Capri.
