Los Angeles: Kobe Bryant’s widow said Friday she was devastated when she learned first responders had taken graphic photos of her dead husband and daughter in the wreckage of a helicopter crash.Vanessa Bryant In tears, she said she lives in fear of being “constantly circulated” in photos that have surfaced on the Internet. U.S. basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his teenage daughter were among his nine killed in 2020 after a chopper crashed into a hillside near Los Angeles. .
Vanessa Bryant claims she suffered emotional distress because Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department personnel and firefighters took pictures of the scene and later shared them with friends and other first responders at a bar. The sheriff’s deputy admitted to sending the photo to a fellow sheriff while the two were playing “Call of Duty.”
Vanessa Bryant told a Los Angeles courthouse on Friday that she ran out of her house to find a place to cry away from her daughters when she learned the photos existed. I just wanted to scream,” the Los Angeles Times reported her words. “I never want my kids to see it,” she said. “I have three little girls.”
‘Souvenir’
Bryant is suing the County of Los Angeles for millions of dollars in damages.The lawsuit joins the lawsuit of Chris Chester, whose wife and daughter also died in the crash.The complaint seeks negligence and privacy. alleging infringement. Lawyers say the gruesome cell phone photos were taken as “souvenirs” by first responders who weren’t in the business of taking pictures.
A Los Angeles County attorney does not dispute that the photo was taken, but claims it was never published and has now been removed. When he found out about the photo months later, he said he couldn’t believe it.
He said he “almost isolated the family from the details” of the crash. “I thought there were pictures of the remains on the internet by now,” he said, adding that he immediately warned his sons: “Don’t start googling for them.” I feel it,’ he told the nine-member jury.
Mira Hashmall, who represents the county in the civil lawsuit, previously said the lawsuit, which began last week, hinged on this public dissemination issue. “I’ve worked tirelessly to prevent it from becoming a problem,” she said. “It’s been over two and a half years since then, and the pictures of the county have not appeared in the media, nor can they be found online, and plaintiffs admit they have never seen them.”
Relatives of other victims were awarded $2.5 million in compensation for photography last year. An investigation into the crash found that the pilot likely became disoriented after flying the Sikorsky S-76 into the fog. Bryant is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time and has become the face of his sport during his illustrious 20 years with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was a five-time NBA champion in a career that began right out of high school in 1996 and lasted until his retirement in 2016. – AFP
