Kobe Bryant: helicopter crash death explained, what did leaked photos show - how much will wife Vanessa get?

Vanessa Bryant has been awarded $16 million in damages, after photos were taken of her dead husband and daughter.

Vanessa is the wife of late basketball player Kobe Bryant who died in a helicopter crash in 2020.

A two week trial took place in Los Angeles, in which the court heard a harrowing testimony from Bryant herself.

During the trial, Los Angeles County argued that the photos taken at the scene had not been made public and efforts had been made to scrub them from devices.

The jury awarded Vanessa Bryant the $16 million in compensation in less than a day of deliberating.

Vanessa Bryant broke down in tears as the verdict was read out in court.

What happened to Kobe Bryant?

American basketball player Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash in January 2020.

The helicopter crashed into the side of a mountain in Calabasas, killing Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and the seven other people on board.

Bryant’s identity was confirmed after the crash using his fingerprints.

The Federal Aviation Administration, National Transportation Safety Board and FBI all launched investigations into the crash.

The investigation into the crash was made harder by the fact the helicopter was not equipped with a black box to detail information.

It was ultimately concluded that the pilot Ara Zobayan was probably disorientated, while flying through thick clouds.

Board members from the National Transportation Safety Board said that Zobayan had ignored his training and violated federal regulations during the flight.

What photos were taken?

Sheriff deputies and firefighters raced to the scene and unlawfully took photographs of the helicopter crash and the bodies of those who had died.

Some of the first responders that took photographs of the victims, showed the photos to members of the public, with one deputy sending the photos to a friend.

Los Angeles County defended their actions, stating that the photos were never released to the public.

In a statement made during the court case, it was heard that Vanessa Bryant and Chris Chester, who lost his wife in the crash, live in fear of the photos surfacing online.

The pair have sued for emotional damages over the photos of their loved ones that have been taken.

When the verdict was read out in the court case, Bryant broke down crying and was comforted by her daughter Natalia.

It was reported that from her seat, Vanessa turned to the dury and mouthed ‘thank you’ to those who had made the decision.

How much will Vanessa Bryant get in damages?

Vanessa Bryant has won $16 million in the court case around emotional damages from photos taken of her late husband and daughter.

The court case was combined with Chris Chester who had lost his wife in the helicopter crash.

During the case, Chester was also awarded $15 million in damages after photos were also taken of his wife.

On Tuesday, Chester’s Lawyer should award the pair a million dollars each year for their remaining expected life after the upset caused by Los Angeles County.

Despite this, Attorney Jerry Jackson called the figure ‘a fair and reasonable compensation.’

Adding that ‘You can’t award too much money for what they went through.’