Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26, 2020, along with Newport Beach residents John, Keri and Alyssa Altobelli; Sarah and Payton Chester; Christina Mauser and Ara Zobayan.
On the fifth anniversary of the tragedy, The Times asked readers to share their thoughts on where they were when they heard about his death and the impact of his life on theirs.
From Steve Yasbek: I was at a car wash in the waiting room and the breaking news came on the television. My heart sank exactly the same way when I heard that Magic Johnson had HIV and I thought his death was imminent. Kobe was just finding his after-basketball life. A terrible tragedy.
From Virginia Wax: I was working from home in Tarzana on that very foggy day. I thought I heard a helicopter flying low but thought in that pea soup a copter could not be flying so put it out of mind. When later that day I got the news of Kobe, his daughter and the others’ crash and death, and then when I saw the published flight path, I was shocked because I did hear a helicopter. Alas it was Kobe flying low right over my house. Shortly after hearing them, they were gone. What a loss!
From Mitchell Schwartz: I had a softball game at the Sepulveda Basin Softball Complex at 9 a.m. I drove over the hill from my house near Koreatown and got to the field about 8:40 a.m., it was cloudy, which surprised me a bit. I thought it would clear up but it never did. On my way home after the game I heard the bad news.
From James Havas: I was on the sixth hole when I got this sudden chill. My partner teased me that I was shaking. I picked up my phone and when I saw the news I had to stop playing immediately. I sat in my car for the next 30 minutes tuning in any and all stations to try and understand what happened. I was in tears the whole way home. I will never forget that day.
From Bob Long: We were in Buenos Aires entering into an Uber car. I immediately noticed that the driver was crying, almost sobbing. I asked, “Are you OK?” He responded that Kobe Bryant had died in a helicopter crash, and then proceeded to tell me in Spanish, most of which I could barely understand, why he considered Kobe to be the best to have played the game. He was clearly a huge fan of the game and Kobe. In short order, both my spouse and I were in tears.
From George Legg: On the morning of the crash, my wife and I were working out at our local gym when a couple of the members called out that they had gotten a push [alert] about a crash involving Kobe. The trainers immediately tuned the TVs in the aerobic studio to local news, where the crash was just being reported. One of the trainers, name of Mike, coming out of their break room asked my wife what was going on, and she told him that Kobe had died in a helicopter crash. We’ll never forget Mike’s reaction of shock and sadness, and his comment to my wife that whenever he heard Kobe’s name in the future, he would always remember that moment when she told him what had happened.
From Jho Christian: I remember it was a Sunday afternoon in Toronto. I was born and raised in the Philippines and moved to Canada in 2016. I was working at the time and when I took a break, I saw the news. I had to check it out first by going to Twitter, and my friends and family were calling me. It didn’t hit me right away, but when I got home from the bus, I started crying. I realized that my childhood hero, Kobe Bryant, was gone. I treated Kobe like a dad because I grew up without one. Every time an interview of him was on TV, I would watch the whole thing. It was like a double whammy for me because I was also dealing with a personal problem. Then this happened, and it really crushed me. But I decided to remember Kobe for the rest of my life. I got a tattoo that says “Mamba 4 Life.” He didn’t know me, but everything he did will have a big impact on my life. I learned that even if we think something is just a small thing, we should give it our all. That’s the Mamba mentality. I still watch his highlights every year on his birthday or January 26. I always get teary-eyed remembering him.
From Robert Stein: I was driving my car and my girlfriend at that time called me. She asked me what I was doing and when I told her I was driving she said “pull over please.” She then told me what happened. I was in disbelief. I turned on the radio and I heard the news. Was so upsetting to me. For weeks, I did not want to believe it. What struck me the most was the great sadness expressed by so many who were not basketball fans and how well-liked Kobe was by other NBA players, coaches, etc.
From Junior Alvarez: The knot that grows in my throat as I type this is real. It’s real and it hasn’t dissipated since that morning. It was a beautifully sunny and cool late morning and my family and I were enjoying the coastline along Palos Verdes. My phone buzzed in my pocket with a news alert. Something about a helicopter crash and Kobe? No, it couldn’t be. Just more fake news, right? I try typing into my phone on a screen that’s suddenly too small with fingers suddenly too fat on a phone that’s suddenly too slow.
And there it was. With details coming in slowly, the news was confirmed on a screen in front of me. All passengers were feared likely to have perished. Fog was the likely culprit. I looked up and ran to my wife. Yes I ran, and when I found her all she could say was “what’s wrong?”
Except, what I was looking for was someone to tell me it was all a lie. That this wasn’t happening and it was some kind of joke, or mistake, or something other than the truth. Her phone sprang into action only to come up with the same news. I went to my sister-in-law but she had the same sad info, and my world went into a fog of its own. Kobe wasn’t just a sports figure. He embodied L.A. in so many ways. His Latina wife, his 20-year career with one team, his foray into Hollywood, and his charitable works. He was L.A. royalty, having been knighted by the Magic Man himself.
So, yes, as a native Angeleno his loss was a deep cut. So much so that I seldom click on his highlights since then. I can’t watch his past greatness without lamenting that his three girls will be without a father. The world was robbed of a man whose best was yet to come. Someday I hope to be able to enjoy his hoops reel again. But the sadness will always remain.
This story originally appeared on LA Times
