Widow Kobe Bryant was ‘blinded’ for leaking photos of the accident that killed her husband and daughter | US News

Vanessa Bryant testified in court that she felt “blinded” when she learned that photos of the crash that killed her husband and daughter had been shared by emergency services.

Basketball star Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna killed in January 2020 when the helicopter they were traveling in crashed near Los Angeles.

Ms. Bryant is suing Los Angeles County for invasion of privacy over the photos, which are said to have been shared between police officers and firefighters in the wake of the tragedy.

Speaking to the witness stand on Friday, which lasted more than three hours on the eighth day of the trial, Ms Bryant said she wanted to begin grieving the loss of her husband and daughter, but was faced with “the horror of her life.” new emperor” after hearing the news. The photos leaked a month after the crash.

“I felt like running, running down the block and screaming,” she said. “It’s like running down a pier and jumping into the water.

“The problem is that I can’t escape. I can’t escape my body.”

She told the court she called about the story in the Los Angeles Times while holding her 7-month-old daughter and spending time with friends and family.

“I rushed out of the house and went around to the side so my girls wouldn’t see.

“I’m blind again, devastated, hurt. I trust them. I trust they won’t do these things.”

The court heard about how a deputy sheriff shared photos of Bryant’s body to a bartender while he was drinking, and firefighters rotated them among themselves at a party.

Although the pictures have never been made public, Ms. Bryant said: “I live in fear every day on social media and these things come up. I live in fear about the girls. mine showed up on social media and these showed up.”

She added that the thought of it kept her awake and often caused her to have a panic attack.

According to district attorney J Mira Hashmall, the photos were taken because they were deemed important for site evaluation, but after LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva learned they had been shared, he requested that all be deleted. all copies.

Ms Hashmall later, while cross-checking Ms. Bryant, said that the person who took the pictures, Doug Johnson, was just trying to use the photos as part of an investigation.

“You can see why he wants the same information as you did,” Ms. Hashmall said.

“I don’t think you need to take close-up photos of people to determine how many people are on the plane,” Ms. Bryant replied. “I think he might have just counted.”

Bryant’s side settled the case after her testimony.

The trial continues.