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Kobe Bryant & Daughter Die in Helicopter Crash
Kobe Bryant (41), Gianna Bryant (13), John Altobelli (56), Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Sarah Chester, Payton Chester (13), Christina Mauser and the pilot, Ara Zobayan.
Mauser was an assistant coach of the Mamba girls’ basketball team.
5:55 PM PT -- TMZ Sports has obtained some of the last photos taken of Kobe Bryant with his daughter, Gianna, and it's clear they both had basketball on the brain in one of their final moments together.
The pics were shot Saturday at Kobe's Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, where Gigi's Mamba team played two 8th grade girls games that day. You can see KB watching carefully from the sideline as Gianna was on the court.
At one point, Kobe was seen giving his kid some tips. It's unclear if he's the head coach of her current squad or not, but he was definitely in coaching mode from what we can tell. We know he's coached other teams she was on in the past. Kobe said Gianna had aspirations to be in the WNBA, and by all accounts ... she was well on her way to getting there.
One thing that's pretty obvious from this snapshot moment is that they were both fierce competitors and loved the game they played.
4:56 PM PT -- The Mayor of Costa Mesa, Katrina Foley, just confirmed the identity of one of the other victims in the helicopter crash ... girls basketball coach Christina Mauser, who's married to Tijuana Dogs singer Matt Mauser. Matt also confirmed the news himself.
On Facebook, he wrote ... "My kids and I are devastated. We lost our beautiful wife and mom today in a helicopter crash. Please respect our privacy. Thank you for all the well wishes they mean so much."
4:30 PM PT -- L.A. weather was extremely foggy Sunday morning, and law enforcement sources tell us even LAPD air support was grounded because of it. Flight tracker data shows Kobe's chopper appeared to first encounter weather issues as it was above the L.A. Zoo. It circled that area at least 6 times at a very low altitude -- around 875 feet -- perhaps waiting for the fog to clear.
Mauser was an assistant coach of the Mamba girls’ basketball team.
5:55 PM PT -- TMZ Sports has obtained some of the last photos taken of Kobe Bryant with his daughter, Gianna, and it's clear they both had basketball on the brain in one of their final moments together.
The pics were shot Saturday at Kobe's Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, where Gigi's Mamba team played two 8th grade girls games that day. You can see KB watching carefully from the sideline as Gianna was on the court.
At one point, Kobe was seen giving his kid some tips. It's unclear if he's the head coach of her current squad or not, but he was definitely in coaching mode from what we can tell. We know he's coached other teams she was on in the past. Kobe said Gianna had aspirations to be in the WNBA, and by all accounts ... she was well on her way to getting there.
One thing that's pretty obvious from this snapshot moment is that they were both fierce competitors and loved the game they played.
4:56 PM PT -- The Mayor of Costa Mesa, Katrina Foley, just confirmed the identity of one of the other victims in the helicopter crash ... girls basketball coach Christina Mauser, who's married to Tijuana Dogs singer Matt Mauser. Matt also confirmed the news himself.
On Facebook, he wrote ... "My kids and I are devastated. We lost our beautiful wife and mom today in a helicopter crash. Please respect our privacy. Thank you for all the well wishes they mean so much."
4:30 PM PT -- L.A. weather was extremely foggy Sunday morning, and law enforcement sources tell us even LAPD air support was grounded because of it. Flight tracker data shows Kobe's chopper appeared to first encounter weather issues as it was above the L.A. Zoo. It circled that area at least 6 times at a very low altitude -- around 875 feet -- perhaps waiting for the fog to clear.