Vanessa Bryant, the widow of famed Basketball legend Kobe Bryant, revealed that she learned about the deaths of her husband and daughter when social media notifications began showing up on her phone- hours before the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department officially notified her.
The widow described the devastating moment in her October 12 deposition.
“I was holding onto my phone because obviously, I was trying to call my husband back, and all these notifications started popping up on my phone, saying ‘RIP Kobe. RIP Kobe. RIP Kobe,'” Vanessa Bryant said.
Bryant, and their 13-year-old daughter Gianna, were among nine people killed when the helicopter they were in crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, California, on January 26, 2020.
Vanessa Bryant testified as part of her ongoing lawsuit against the Los Angeles Sheriff’s department, fire department, and L.A. County, which alleged that department employees took and shared photos of the crash site, including pictures of her husband and daughter.
“I don’t think it’s fair that I’m here today having to fight for accountability,” Bryant said, according to a transcript of the deposition that was filed with the court Friday.
“Because no one should ever have to endure this type of pain and fear of their family members. The pictures getting released, this is not okay.”
Bryant stated that when Sheriff Alex Villanueva arrived to personally share the tragic details on the passing of her husband and her daughter, the sheriff asked, “Is there anything I can do for you?” She responded, “If you can’t bring my husband and baby back, please make sure no one takes photographs of them,” according to the deposition transcript. “Please secure the area. And he said: I will.”
According to the transcript, Bryant stated that she was afraid” of “fans or drones or helicopters” taking images of the scene.
The sheriff’s department has declined to comment on the pending lawsuit.
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Blogging since 2006, Regan has written for numerous online publications including YoRaps.com, BallerAlert.com and her own online labor of love Honeygrip.com. In 2010, as her alter-ego Honeygrip, Regan was the gossip correspondent for controversial radio personalities Star & Bucwild. Each experience not only thickened her skin but it introduced her to a new passion, the new realm of ‘social media’.
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