Vanessa Bryant bravely took part in a Zoom deposition where she spoke about the day her husband, Lakers star Kobe Bryant, and their 13-year-old daughter Gianna, passed away in a helicopter accident in early 2020.
If you don’t know, Vanessa is suing the county of Los Angeles after sheriff’s deputies shared photos from the crash scene where the 9 lives were lost on January 26, 2020.
Click inside to read what Vanessa Bryant recalled about that tragic day…
On January 26, 2020, a family assistant came to inform Vanessa that the crash had occurred.
“She told me that there was an accident and that there were five survivors,” Vanessa said in her testimony (via the LA Times). “And I asked her if Gianna and Kobe were okay. And she said she wasn’t sure. She didn’t know.”
“I was trying to call my husband back,” she testified, adding “and all these notifications started popping up on my phone, saying RIP Kobe. RIP Kobe. RIP Kobe.” The TMZ article announcing Kobe‘s passing was posted at around 11:30 am, the same time the assistant informed Vanessa there had been an accident.
Eventually, Vanessa picked up their daughter Natalia from an exam prep class.
“I told her that Daddy and Gigi were in an accident. Not to worry. I’m sure they’re fine because there’s five survivors,” she said. “And I’m sure Daddy and Gigi are fine. I just felt, I knew that they would be helping people.”
The police requested that Vanessa come to the station closest to the crash site, which was nearly two hours away. She attempted to charter a helicopter, but conditions were too poor.
Eventually, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka drove her to the Malibu-Lost Hills station of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department.
“I kept asking if my husband and daughter were OK,” she said. “No one would answer me.”
“Then they walked us over to this little closet room area where we waited and waited. There was one sheriff present. And I asked him: What is happening? Why is no one telling me what is happening?” she recalled.
Eventually, Sheriff Alex Villanueva, a pastor, and a publicist walked in the room.
That is when the Sheriff informed her of the deaths, saying, “Is there anything I can do for you?”
“And I said, If you can’t bring my husband and baby back, please make sure no one takes photographs of them. Please secure the area,” Vanessa explained.
Alex Villanueva allegedly told her the area was secure.
“I said: No, I need you to get on the phone right now and I need you to make sure that you secure the area,” she recalled.
He then left, and returned and told her, “All is good. The area is secure.”
“I have my husband’s and my daughter’s clothing in my possession. And I can say that they — they suffered a lot,” Vanessa continued. “And if their clothes represent the condition of their bodies, I cannot imagine how someone could be so callous and have no regard for them or our friends, and just share the images as if they were animals on a street.”
Vanessa previously shared the names of the officers who distributed the images. Our continued thoughts are with the families of all of the victims of this horrific tragedy.
from Just Jared https://ift.tt/3E8Jlla
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