Two years after the tragic death of Kobe Bryant

This Wednesday marks two years since the death of the legendary player Kobe Bryant in a helicopter accident at the age of 41. That January 26, 2020, the basketball player was flying accompanied by his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and six other people who also died after the event.

Bryant is one of only seven players in NBA history to exceed 30,000 points, with 33,643, ahead of greats like Michael Jordan and trailing only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone and LeBron James. He also had 18 All-Star appearances and won five NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The investigation of the accident in which Kobe Bryant, Gigi Bryant, Alyssa Altobelli, John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Payton Chester, Christina Mauser and Ara Zobayan lost their lives concluded that the cause was due to the disorientation of the pilot caused by the fog, since According to the United States National Transportation Safety Board, the Sikorsky S-76B aircraft with registration N72EX was in perfect condition.

The report also refers to the pressure pilots often experience to fly in undesirable conditions when they have rich and famous people as clients. Vanessa Bryant, the player’s wife, filed negligence and wrongful death claims against the deceased pilot Ara Zobayan’s estate and against Island Express Helicopters as “subsidiary in all respects.” The families of the other victims sued the helicopter companies but not Zobayan. On Tuesday, June 22 of last year, this lawsuit was closed after Vanessa Bryant and the families of the victims reached an agreement with the company.

In addition, in September 2020, the basketball player’s widow sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in federal court for civil rights violations, negligence, emotional distress and violation of privacy, after the police officers involved share unauthorized photos of the crash site. The trial is scheduled for next February 22 and would last for two weeks.