A helicopter crash in Calabasas, California last Jan. 26 claimed the lives of nine people on board, most notably among the victims were Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and his then-13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant.
Now, nearly four months since the tragic accident, the Los Angeles County's medical examiner department released the coroner's autopsy report. The county coroner ruled the death of all nine victims as an accident.
“On Jan. 28, the cause of death for all nine decedents was certified as blunt trauma. The manner of death was certified as accident,” the autopsy reports state, via People.
The Lakers held a memorial for the Bryants and victims of the crash at the Staples Center last February 24, and Kobe's passing hung a shadow over the second half of the 2019-20 NBA season prior to the suspension.
During the said memorial, Chicago Bulls Hall of Famer Michael Jordan spoke, with tears in his eyes, about his former protégé — the once young NBA star who idolized the six-time champion. Alongside Jordan, ex-Lakers teammate Shaquille O'Neal spoke about his three-peat co-star.
Moreover, Bryant's widow, Vanessa, eulogized her late husband.
Kobe Bryant — an 18-time All-Star, one-time MVP and five-time champion — entered the league in the legendary 1996 draft class. He became an All-Star for the first time as a teenager at 19 before helping O'Neal achieve three consecutive titles with Los Angeles in 2000-02. Later on, he led a Lakers team at the end of the decade as its top gun and retired after 20 years in the NBA at the conclusion of the 2015-16 season.
His death marked a long mourning period that is very well still felt in Los Angeles, where Bryant was an iconic athletic figure for Angelenos.
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