Just weeks after a hoax video falsely claims that Kobe Bryant‘s wife Vanessa Bryant had died by suicide, another hoax has popped up, falsely claiming that Kobe and Vanessa’s 17-year-old daughter Natalia had died by suicide. According to Snopes.com, a video report was doctored with the BBC News logo; however, the video was published on a suspicious looking website that has no affiliation with the British Broadcasting Corporation. The information published in the video posted is false and both Vanessa and Natalia are still alive.
Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were killed in a tragic helicopter crash along with seven other people last month. John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Christina Mauser, Sarah Chester, Payton Chester and Ara Zobayan were all victims of the deadly chopper crash. The crash took place in Calabasas, California, while all nine passengers were on their way to Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy for a youth basketball tournament. During the morning hours, the aircraft was flying in conditions so foggy that even the LAPD decided to ground all of their helicopters.
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Following the accident, several other pilots came forward to try and determine what went wrong, considering Zobayan was an experienced pilot and trusted among the stars. Some experts believe that he may have misjudged the area he was flying in, assuming he was clear of all the mountains. At one point the pilot’s elevation dropped dramatically. While that was likely an effort to fly under the fog cover, it appears as if he misjudged the landscape entirely.
Since the passengers’ sudden deaths, several celebrities like Khloé Kardashian, Dwyane Wade, Brad Paisley and David Beckham have all come forward to share their thoughts and emotions with fans.
“Today is one of the saddest days of my lifetime,” Wade said in a video following Bryant’s death. “It seems like a bad dream that you just want to wake up from. It’s a nightmare. I know we all feeling the same way about such a great leader, a great champion, a great person. If you got a chance to really know Kobe… ain’t nobody better.”
Bryant has been recognized at a countless number of public events, including the Grammy Awards, Oscar Awards and during the NBA All-Star weekend in Chicago. In fact, now the NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver, announced that the Kia NBA All-Star Game MVP Award has been permanently named after Bryant.
Photo credit: Noam Galai/Getty.
