The crash that reportedly took the life of retired NBA star Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna “Gigi” Bryant resulted in more deaths than first announced. The death toll at the scene is up to nine, The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a press conference Sunday afternoon. Investigators originally had the number at five.
To be very clear, none of the victims have been officially identified, but it is widely reported that father and daughter died in the crash.
Confirmation of the deaths come from sources cited by TMZ, and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli also died in the incident, according to the Orange County Register.
At first, there was scuttlebutt online that Rick Fox, a retired NBA star who played on the Los Angeles Lakers with Kobe Bryant, also died. That has been repeatedly debunked.
The helicopter took off from Orange County, and crashed in the hills above Calabasas, according to sources cited by The Los Angeles Times. The aircraft burst into flames. The incident reportedly happened right before 10 a.m. local time.
[Image of Kobe and Gianna Bryant in 2018 via Harry How/Getty Images]