The Altobelli family victims of the tragic helicopter crash that carried KobeBryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant will be honored today at the Angel stadium.
It’s been a tough and heartbreaking month. Only a few weeks have passed since news broke of the fatal helicopter crash that claimed the lives of Bryant and his daughter. Along with the Bryants was a beloved Orange County family. The family was identified as John and Keri Altobelli and the couple’s 14-year-old daughter, Alyssa.
The family of three will be honored during a public memorial at the Angel Stadium in Anaheim, according to NBC Los Angeles. The stadium seats 45,000, which will cater to those who wish to remember the family that was reportedly very close to Orange County and the baseball community. John Altobelli coached baseball for 27 years at Coast College in Costa Mesa, NBC Los Angeles reports.
The college’s baseball foundation has reportedly started a fundraiser to help support the family financially, and the team will fly Alyssa’s No.14 jersey on the outfield wall on a banner. The community said the families made everyone feel as if you were one of their own. “They made everyone feel like an Altobelli or a Pirate. That’s why so many people are wearing 14 today. I know if (Keri) were here, she would be judging me on everything I’d be doing. (Keri) really ran this team,” said interim manager Nate Johnson said in a pregame ceremony.
For those wishing to attend the memorial, it will begin at 4 pm pst, and parking will be open on the Angel Stadium lots off State College Boulevard and Orangewood Avenue. The community can enter through the home plate gate. The crash left nine dead, including Bryant, Gianna, Christina Mauser, 38; Sarah Chester, 45; her daughter Payton, 13; Zobayan; John Altobelli, 56; Keri Altobelli, 46; and Alyssa.
