Artist Dan Medina said the statue, which shows the elder Bryant with his hand on Gianna’s shoulder as she carries a basketball, will remain at the hilltop site temporarily.
The others killed on Jan. 26, 2020, were pilot Ara Zobayan, Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife, Keri, and their daughter Alyssa; Christina Mauser, who helped Bryant coach his daughter’s basketball team; and Sarah Chester and her daughter Payton. Alyssa and Payton were Gianna’s teammates.
The names of all nine of the crash victims are inscribed on a plaque on the statue’s base.
The statue was planned to be removed Wednesday at sunset.
The artist has sculpted a version that is 7-feet tall, and he would like to get the talks moving forward on how to place it in downtown L.A.
Meanwhile, a trial is nearing in a lawsuit brought by the Kobe Bryant’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, seeking millions of dollars in damages for the emotional distress she claims she suffered after discovering that graphic photos of her loved ones’ remains were allegedly shared by Los Angeles County sheriff’s and fire department personnel.
Kobe Bryant’s widow Vanessa discloses witness list ahead of trial over helicopter crash photos
Kobe Bryant, his daughter “Gigi,” and six other passengers were flying from Orange County to a youth basketball tournament at his Mamba Sports Academy in Ventura County. The helicopter encountered thick fog in the San Fernando Valley and slammed into a hillside.
The National Transportation Safety Board released a report in February 2021 that blamed pilot error for the crash. The NTSB said a series of poor decisions led Zobayan to fly blindly into a wall of clouds where he became so disoriented he thought he was climbing when the craft was plunging.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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