Vanessa Bryant Settles Wrongful Death Lawsuit Over Kobe’s Helicopter Crash

Vanessa Bryant is said to have reached a wrongful death settlement with Island Express Helicopters, the company that operated the plane that killed Kobe Bryant, their daughter Gianna, and seven other people.

According to ABC 7, nearly 17 months after the tragic helicopter crash in Calabasas, Bryant and her co-plaintiffs negotiated a private settlement with the company this week. Alyssa Altobelli, John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Payton Chester, Sarah Chester, and Christina Mauser, as well as helicopter pilot Ara Zobayan, whose estate was named as a defendant, were all killed in the crash. The settlement apparently involved the Altobelli, Chester, and Mauser families.

The agreement’s terms have not been revealed because the court has yet to approve it.

The complaint was announced less than a month after the fatal incident. The incident was “a direct result of the negligent conduct of Zobayan for which Defendant Island Express Helicopters is vicariously liable in all respects.” According to the 72-page, 27-count lawsuit, the pilot was also accused of failing to “use ordinary care in piloting the subject aircraft.”

“Defendant Island Express Helicopters authorized, directed and/or permitted with full knowledge that the subject helicopter was flying into unsafe weather conditions,” the complaint read, “[The company] promoted and engaged in unnecessary and needlessly risky means of transport under the circumstances.”

Bryant asked for punitive, economic, and non-economic damages, as well as prejudgment interest and “other relief as the Court deems just and proper.” The suit also stated that “Kobe Bryant’s future lost earnings equals hundreds of millions of dollars.”