Los Angeles agrees to pay Kobe Bryant widow almost $29 million over shared crash images

Los Angeles County has agreed to pay Kobe Bryant’s widow nearly $29 million (£24 million) after police released graphic pictures of his fatal helicopter crash two years ago.

When the plane crashed in the LA area, Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven other people all died.

Vanessa Bryant sued, saying that first responders took pictures of his body parts to sell as “souvenirs.”

The settlement was called “fair and reasonable” by the lawyers for LA County.

Lawyers for the plaintiff said in a statement on Tuesday, “Today marks the successful culmination of Mrs Bryant’s courageous battle to hold accountable those who engaged in this grotesque conduct.”

“She fought for her husband, her daughter, and all those in the community whose deceased family were treated with similar disrespect. We hope her victory at trial and this settlement will put an end to this practise.”

In a statement, Mira Hashmall, who was the lead trial attorney for Los Angeles County in the case, said that all lawsuits involving the crash and the county had been settled.

She said that the $28,850,000 settlement included the $16 million that Mrs. Bryant won in her lawsuit against Los Angeles County for invasion of privacy in August 2022.

Ms. Hashmall said, “We hope Ms Bryant and her children continue to heal from their loss.”

Chris Chester, whose wife and daughter also died in the crash on January 26, 2020, settled with the county for nearly $20 million, lawyers told US media on Tuesday.

In March 2021, Mrs. Bryant gave the names of four sheriff’s deputies who, she said, had given out “gratuitous photos of the dead children, parents, and coaches” who had been on their way to a basketball game.

She said that the pictures, which included one of her 13-year-old daughter Gianna, were taken and spread “for no reason other than morbid gossip.”

Mrs. Bryant said in court that she had read in the news that a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy had shown photos of the crash at a bar.

She told the court, “I live in fear of my daughters being on social media and these popping up.”

Since then, California has made it illegal for first responders to take pictures of people who die at the scene of an accident or crime without permission.

Bryant died when his plane, a Sikorsky S-76B, crashed into a hill outside of the city of Calabasas.

When the flight took off, it was foggy, and the local police had to land their helicopters because of the bad weather.