Vanessa Bryant Awarded $29 Million Settlement Over Kobe Bryant Crash Site Photos That Were Shared By LA County Employees

On January 26, 2020, legendary basketball player Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash with eight others on board, including his daughter Gianna. 1,852 pages of factual evidence were collected during an investigation, including emails, texts, photos, interview transcripts, video footage, and meteorological reports. A former helicopter pilot, Jack Cress, says, "the low-lying stratus layer" and the "relatively high-rising terrain" was a common and "deadly combination." The pilot operating the helicopter got 1,600 feet above ground before descending rapidly and crashing into the hills. Federal safety officials point to pilot error as the reason for the crash. Vanessa Bryant, Kobe's wife and the mother of 13-year-old Gianna, was of course devastated by the tragedy. But things were made even worse when she learned that photos from the crash site were being circulated by Los Angeles County sheriff's and fire departments.