Basketball player Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Giana Gianna Maria Onore Bryant, were among the nine people who were killed Sunday morning in a helicopter crash into a hillside in Calabasas, California.
They had been expected for a basketball game scheduled for Sunday at the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks. “Gianna was expected to play in the game and Bryant was expected to coach,” said Evelyn Morales, team director of Lady Mavericks.
Daryl Osby, Chief of LA County Fire Department said, “The helicopter crash, about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, caused a brush fire.”
LA County Sheriff’s Department said the crash killed all nine people aboard.
John Altobelli, coach of Orange Coast College baseball, and his daughter, Alyssa, and wife, Keri, were killed in the crash, according to John’s brother, Tony Altobelli.
Gianna and Alyssa were teammates, according to Tony Altobelli.
Tony Imbrenda, Captain of LA County Fire Department, said he did not immediately have any information about whether the helicopter radioed a distress signal. He said, “Individuals that saw the aircraft said it was coming down at a fairly significant rate of speed and impacted the ground on the hillside.”
CNN Meteorologist Michael Guy said, “There was extremely low visibility at the time of the crash and conditions were foggy and cloudy with a drizzle.”
Bryant was born in Philadelphia. He started playing basketball at the age of 3 and went on to become one of the NBA’s greatest champions.
The legendary basketball player drafted straight out of Lower Merion High School near Philadelphia in 1996. At that time, he was the youngest player in NBA history.
He played his entire professional basketball career with the Lakers and won five NBA championships. He retired in April 2016 and said his “body knew it was time to say goodbye.” Bryant leaves behind by wife, Vanessa, and three daughters, Natalia, Bianka, and Capri.
