Family members of the four passengers killed in the same helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant have joined Vanessa Bryant’s plan and filed a wrongful death lawsuit against all companies who owned the helicopter, The Associated Press reports.
Two lawsuits have been filed — three from members of one family, and a woman who helped coached Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna Bryant, who also died in the Jan. 26 crash.
- One suit came from the children of Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli and his wife Keri, who died in the crash with their daughter Alyssa, who played basketball with Gianna, according to The Associated Press.
- The other case comes from the husband and children of Christina Mauser, who helped coach Gianna Bryant.
The lawsuits allege that the helicopter company Island Express Helicopters was careless and negligent in its management of the aircraft, according to Associated Press reports.
Back in February, Kobe Bryant’s widow, Vanessa Bryant. filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the helicopter company, as I reported for the Deseret News. The lawsuit accused Island Express Helicopters of “negligence.” The lawsuit also said the pilot, Ara Zobayan, failed “to use ordinary care in piloting the subject aircraft,” according to USA Today.
The lawsuit did not “specify a dollar amount; it seeks general, economic and punitive damages, which could total into the millions,” according to USA Today.