{"id":1189852,"date":"2022-08-25T09:18:03","date_gmt":"2022-08-25T09:18:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/08\/25\/kobby-bryants-widow-awarded-16m-over-leaked-crashed-photos\/"},"modified":"2022-08-25T09:18:03","modified_gmt":"2022-08-25T09:18:03","slug":"kobby-bryants-widow-awarded-16m-over-leaked-crashed-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/08\/25\/kobby-bryants-widow-awarded-16m-over-leaked-crashed-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"Kobby Bryant’s widow awarded $16m over leaked crashed photos"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Vanessa, widow of Kobe Bryant, testified in court about the gruesome photos.\/ PC: AFP via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Kobe Bryant\u2019s widow has been awarded $16m (\u00a313.6m) in damages over leaked graphic photos of the helicopter crash that killed the US basketball star and his daughter in 2020.<\/p>\n

Vanessa Bryant, 40, said she had panic attacks after learning images taken by Los Angeles County sheriff\u2019s deputies and firefighters had been shared.<\/p>\n

A federal jury now said the county must pay Mrs Bryant for emotional distress.<\/p>\n

Co-plaintiff Christopher Chester will be paid $15m.<\/p>\n

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Mrs Bryant\u2019s husband, Kobe Bryant, 41, daughter Gianna, 13, and six family friends died when their helicopter crashed in California in January 2020. Mr Chester lost his wife Sarah and daughter Payton in the crash.<\/p>\n

A report by the Los Angeles Times claiming county employees took photos at the crash site and shared them with others has enraged the victims\u2019 families.<\/p>\n

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Vanessa Bryant said she had felt \u201cblindsided, devastated, hurt and betrayed\u201d by news of the leak\/ GETTY IMAGES<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Last November, the county agreed to pay $2.5m (\u00a32.1m) over the emotional distress caused to two families who lost relatives in the crash \u2013 but Mrs Bryant refused to settle.<\/p>\n

Sobbing on the witness stand last week, Mrs Bryant recalled being at home with her other children when she read the LA Times story.<\/p>\n

\u201cI bolted out of the house and I ran to the side of the house so the girls couldn\u2019t see me. I wanted to run\u2026 down the block and just scream,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Mrs Bryant said she had felt \u201cblindsided, devastated, hurt and betrayed\u201d by news of the leak and \u201c[lives] in fear every day of\u2026 having these images pop up\u201d on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t ever want to see these photographs,\u201d she said. \u201cI want to remember my husband and my daughter the way they were.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jurors at the trial heard how sheriff\u2019s deputies and firefighters took gruesome cell phone photos at the accident site and showed them to others, including at a bar and a gala event.<\/p>\n

These employees \u201cpoured salt in an open wound and rubbed it in\u201d with their actions, Mrs Bryant\u2019s lawyer Luis Li said during opening statements last week.<\/p>\n

A lawyer for the county unsuccessfully argued that \u201csite photography is essential\u201d and that the photos had not been posted anywhere publicly.<\/p>\n

Bryant, a five-time NBA champion, played for the LA Lakers throughout his career and is considered one of the greatest players in the game\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

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Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others died when a helicopter crashed in California last year\/ REUTERS<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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