Vanessa Bryant Settles 2020 Helicopter Crash Photos Lawsuit for Almost $30M

Los Angeles paid for the invasion of privacy by their county’s first responders.

Vanessa Bryant recently reached a settlement with Los Angeles County for the lawsuit filed over photos taken of the scene of her late husband Kobe Bryant’s and daughter Gianna Bryant’s 2020 helicopter crash.

According to NBC News, the settlement, approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, totaled $28.8 million and included the $15 million a jury awarded to Vanessa in August.

“We hope Ms. Bryant and her children continue to heal from their loss,” said Mira Hashmall, lead trial counsel for Los Angeles County in the case.

As previously reported by BLACK ENTERPRISE, Vanessa sued Los Angeles County for invasion of privacy over photos taken of Kobe and Gianna at the crash site. Allegedly, cops and firefighters on the scene shared photos of the tragic crash that killed her loved ones and seven others in Calabasas, in Jan. 2020.

In August, Vanessa gave a three-hour testimony regarding the effect the photos have had on her and her children, saying they caused her to “live in fear every day of being on social media and having these photos pop up.”

Today reported that among those passengers in the 2020 helicopter crash were the wife and daughter of Chris Chester, who also sued over the handling of the photos. Chester was also awarded $15 million by the jury in August.

Others lost their loves from the crash including John Altobelli, 56; his wife, Keri Altobelli, 46; their daughter Alyssa Altobelli, 14; and Christina Mauser, 38.

The pilot operating the helicopter, Ara Zobayan, also died in the crash.

In Feb. 2021, The National Transportation Board (NTSB) reported that Zobayan made poor decisions to continue to fly under visual flight rules into instrument meteorological conditions, adding that his “spatial disorientation” led to the fatal helicopter crash.

According to an NTSB member, Zobayan should have avoided the weather and landed the aircraft instead of climbing to get above the clouds.