NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven other victims died instantly when their helicopter crashed into a hillside outside Los Angeles, officials said Friday.
The Los Angeles County coroner’s office released the autopsy reports which stated that the nine onboard died as a result of blunt force trauma.
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“These injuries are rapidly if not instantly fatal,” Juan Carrillo, senior deputy medical examiner, wrote in the report.
Bryant, 41, was traveling with 13-year-old Gianna to a youth basketball tournament she was playing in on Jan. 26. Two of her teammates — Alyssa Altobelli and Payton Chester — also died on board, along with Alyssa’s parents, John and Keri Altobelli, and Payton’s mother, Sarah Chester. Christina Mauser, the girls’ basketball coach at Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, was also killed, as well as the pilot, Ara Zobayan.
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Their deaths were ruled accidental.
Zobayan, an experienced pilot who often flew Bryant, was attempting to break through a thick fog when the craft took an abrupt left turn and plunged into the grassy, oak-studded hills below.
The autopsy report confirmed that Zobayan did not have alcohol or drugs in his system at the time of the crash.
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The National Transportation Safety Board has not concluded what caused the crash on the outskirts of Los Angeles County but said there was no sign of mechanical failure in the Sikorsky S-76. A final report is not expected for months.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
