Kobe Bryant’s sudden death in helicopter crash shocks fans, athletes around the world





CALABASAS, Calif. (AP) - Former Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others are dead after their helicopter went down Sunday morning about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

[img]https://media.graytvinc.com/images/690*394/Kobe+Bryant+death.JPG[/img]
Kobe Bryant won five NBA championships during his 20-year career, all with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was named the league MVP in 2008 and was an 18-time All-Star. (Source: CNN)

Bryant’s helicopter plunged into a rugged hillside Sunday with an impact that scattered debris over an area the size of a football field and killed everyone aboard.

The helicopter had been flying in foggy conditions considered dangerous enough that local police agencies grounded their choppers.

Longtime Orange Coast College baseball coach 56-year-old John Altobelli was also killed in the helicopter crash, according to his brother. He died along with his wife, Keri, and daughter, Alyssa. Altobelli’s daughter was on the same basketball team as Gianna Bryant.

Altobelli spent 27 seasons as coach at the community college in Costa Mesa, California. He also coached more than a dozen future major leaguers in the Cape Cod Baseball League for elite college prospects, including All-Stars Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees and Jeff McNeil of the New York Mets.

While the deaths of the 41-year-old Bryant, his daughter and Altobelli have been widely reported, officials refrained from identifying anyone involved, pending confirmation by the coroner and notifications to families.

The county medical examiner, Dr. Jonathan Lucas, says recovery of remains may take several days. Lucas says investigators will try to make identifications of the victims as quickly as possible.

The accident unleashed an outpouring of grief from admirers around the country who mourned Bryant’s sudden loss.

The basketball superstar won five NBA titles during a 20-year playing career spent entirely with the Los Angeles Lakers. He retired in 2016 as the league’s No. 3 all-time scorer and remained there until Lakers forward LeBron James passed him on Saturday.

At the Australian Open Monday, Nick Kyrgios wore a Lakers No. 8 jersey to honor Kobe Bryant ahead of a fourth-round match against Rafael Nadal.

The 15-year-old Coco Gauff had Bryant’s numbers 8 and 24, along with the inscription “Mamba Mentality,” on her shoes in a doubles match at Melbourne Park.

Bryant will be mourned for an entire week in Italy, where he lived between the ages of 6 and 13 while his father played for several teams in the country. The Italian basketball federation says it has ordered a minute’s silence to be observed for all games “in every category for the entire week.”

The federation says “it’s a small but heartfelt and deserved gesture to honor the life and memory of Kobe Bryant, an absolute champion who always had Italy in his heart. Kobe was and will always be linked to our country.”

Bryant returned to Pennsylvania for high school but spoke fluent Italian and often said it would be a “dream” to play in the country.

Bryant was also a hugely popular figure in Asia, no more so than in China where basketball rivals soccer as the most popular sport. However, his death comes at an awkward time between the country and the league.

China’s national broadcaster pulled all NBA games off the air in October after the Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey expressed support for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests.

Still, Chinese fans offered their condolences and tributes online, while the presidents of Taiwan and the Philippines also offered their praise for his contributions and inspiration.

In Japan, the head of the association marketing Kobe beef, the succulent meat that reportedly inspired Kobe’s name, said they always “felt a closeness with him.”

SOURCE : AP, hcontributions by Gray Media Group, Inc. "Kobe Bryant’s sudden death in helicopter crash shocks fans, athletes around the world."  WCTV, 26 January 2020, https://www.wctv.tv/content/news/Kobe-Bryants-sudden-death-in-helicopter-crash-shocks-fans-athletes-around-the-world-567319801.html

Copyright 2020 Associated Press. Gray Media Group, Inc., contributed to this report. All rights reserved.