Following the shocking death of Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant and seven other victims on Sunday morning, his wife Vanessa Bryant is trying to be strong for her kids while still in a state of absolute shock. Vanessa hasn’t responded to any of the devastating reports just yet but will in due time. Until then, those close to her have spoken out to update fans on how she’s doing. While she never pictured her life without him, it’s said that she “feels numb to everything” at the moment and is just trying to be strong for her kids.
“Vanessa is completely shocked and heartbroken but is trying to stay as strong as she can in front of her children,” a source tells Entertainment Tonight. “Vanessa married Kobe when she was 18 and never expected to live her life without him, and that is going to take time.”
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The insider continued, “She has been surrounded by her family and friends but she feels almost numb to everything. She is thankful for the outpouring of love her and her family has received and will respond when she’s ready. Right now she’s taking time to be with her girls.”
The news broke Sunday morning after it had been announced that the chopper carrying all nine victims ended in a crash landing on the side of a hill in Calabasas, California. Sadly, no one survived. On board alongside Bryant and his daughter were John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Christina Mauser, Sarah Chester, Payton Chester and the pilot Ara Zobayan. Zobayan and his passengers were reportedly on their way to Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy for a basketball practice when the helicopter went down. They were flying in foggy conditions that were considered to be dangerous, so dangerous that LAPD even grounded all of their aircrafts.
Since then, several other pilots have stepped forward to theorize how this could have happened in efforts to provide some answers for the family members, as well as, fans across the board who are mourning their loss. One pilot said that believes Zobayan misjudged the terrain and since the fog was so thick it made it hard to see his surroundings. Someone else questioned the speed at which they were traveling at 161 knots given the weather conditions. Choppers are made to go as slow as 15 mph for situations such as that so they’re also questioning why he he didn’t choose to fly up instead of down.
All of the theories aside, Zobayan’s helicopter had been reportedly flying irregularly prior to the crash. Although they had special clearance to fly under those conditions the helicopter didn’t have a black box — which isn’t required — but now the National Transportation Safety Board is asking anyone who has photos of the weather around the Calabasas area, to send them to witness@ntsb.gov to help with the investigation.
Photo credit: Stefanie Keenan/Getty
